Nexstar intends to “vigorously” dispute Thursday’s ruling by the Federal Communication Commission that they must sell New York TV channel WPIX-TV.
The FCC ruling cited “an unauthorized transfer of control” in the agreement and ordered Mission Broadcasting, Nexstar’s partner in The CW affiliate, to sell the station. Nexstar was also fined $1.2 million.
“We are extremely disappointed in today’s action by the Federal Communication Commission regarding our relationship with WPIX-TV and we intend to dispute it vigorously,” chairman and CEO Perry Sook said in a statement Thursday.
“We believe the FCC has been misled by the often distracting noise in the media ecosphere and that it has completely misjudged the facts,” Sook wrote. He added that the company “has always complied with FCC regulations” and that the WPIX deal was approved by the FCC in 2020.
Nexstar acquired 75% control of The CW in 2022. WPIX-TV, which has been a CW affiliate since 2006, was part of that package.
Nexstar has operated WPIX since 2020 under a local marketing agreement with Mission Broadcasting, a “sidecar” deal that has come under scrutiny by the FCC and other government agencies in the past.
Sook defended its relationship with Mission, writing that such arrangements are “vitally important to maintain a competitive media marketplace.”
“Nexstar believes that joint operating, shared service and local marketing agreements like those in which it is engaged are vitally important to maintain a competitive media marketplace and to enable broadcasters to continue investing in local news, investigative journalism and other services that they uniquely provide to the communities in which they are located,” Sook said.
Nexstar also owns cable news network NewsNation.
In 2016, the Department of Justice ruled that Nexstar had to sell seven stations to avoid a monopoly; the company agreed to sell five Midwestern stations.
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