One company will own three of the major TV network affiliates in the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton television market.
Nexstar Media Group, which owns local stations WBRE and WYOU, announced Thursday the company has "closed its acquisition" of TEGNA Inc.
TEGNA Inc. owns WNEP-TV, an ABC affiliate.
The Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Justice approved the sale on Thursday. Two lawsuits trying to block the deal were announced the same day, the Associated Press reported.
The release did not indicate the terms of the sale, but Nexstar said last August that it would buy Tegna for $6.2 billion, the AP reported.
The deal would create a company that owns 265 television stations in 44 states and the District of Columbia, most of them local affiliates of ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC, the AP reported FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said the company had agreed to divest itself of six of those stations.
According to FCC documents those stations are in Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Indiana, Louisiana and Virginia.
“This transaction is essential to sustaining strong local journalism in the communities we serve," Nexstar founder and CEO Perry Sook said in a statement issued Thursday. "By bringing these two outstanding companies together, Nexstar will be a stronger, more dynamic enterprise—better positioned to deliver exceptional journalism and local programming with enhanced assets, capabilities, and talent."
WVIA News reached out to WBRE and WNEP for comment Friday. A request for comment was not immediately returned.
Check back for updates.
