Nexstar CEO Says the Company Would Benefit From Settling Its Lawsuit But Is Confident About the Outcome | Cord Cutters News
After releasing its quarterly financial report Thursday, Nexstar answered questions from reporters and analysts on an earnings call. During that call, CEO Perry Sook was asked about the antitrust lawsuit against the company, while its merger with Tegna is pending. “If we can settle the litigation prior to going to trial next year, that has […]
After releasing its quarterly financial report Thursday, Nexstar answered questions from reporters and analysts on an earnings call. During that call, CEO Perry Sook was asked about the antitrust lawsuit against the company, while its merger with Tegna is pending. “If we can settle the litigation prior to going to trial next year, that has a benefit to us,” Soo said. “But we’re not necessarily under the same pressures that other people are in terms of drop-dead dates or ticking fees or whatever, because we’ve already closed on the acquisition. ”The trial is the result of DIRECTV and several states looking to block the merger between Nexstar and Tegna, arguing that the merger would create a consolidated company that would have the power to demand higher fees from cable and satellite providers, which would translate to higher costs for consumers. Nexstar has pushed back, saying that the lawsuit isthreatening local news. A judge has issued a preliminary injunction, which Nexstar has appealed and DIRECTV claimsNexstar has violatedby putting its own executives on the board of Tegna when the company should be operating independently during the ongoing court case. A judge confirmed this week that theorder was violatedand directed Nexstar to dissolve the Tegna board. Nexstar told Cord Cutters News that the company will comply. Deadlinefirst reported on Sook also bringing up the Paramount acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery on the call. He said that the merger would give Paramount more power to demand higher distribution fees, so allowing Nexstar and Tegna to combine would be balancing the power dynamic by allowing the company to negotiate fair terms. Unsurprisingly, Sook also celebrated theFCC decision to remove the capon how many local stations one company can own, noting that removing that obstacle will make mergers and acquisitions easier going forward. However, Sook says the FCC decision won’t have a big impact on the current lawsuit, with Deadline quoting him as saying “It makes the unknown known from a regulatory perspective, but I don’t know that it will have a ton of effect as we go through our process. It’s more about antitrust than the national ownership cap. ”In the Q2 earnings report, Sook stayed positive about the outcome of the lawsuit, saying “we remain confident that the case challenging our acquisition of TEGNA is without merit and we will continue to vigorously defend it. ”