Update: Yesterday, we filed a lawsuit to block the biggest TV merger in history (Nexstar + Tegna).

That sparked a sprint by Nexstar to try to close the deal before a court could stop them.

Less than 24 hours after we filed, USDOJ reportedly dropped its investigation, the FCC waived the rules that would normally block a merger this big, and Nexstar announced the deal was closed. Their CEO thanked the FCC chairman by name.

Not so fast.

This morning, I joined a group of AGs and filed an emergency motion asking the court to freeze this merger to give it time to hear our case.

This merger deserves a full hearing before Nexstar starts raising TV prices on almost half the families in North Carolina and laying off reporters at local news stations across the state.

This isn't speculation. Nexstar told its investors it expects to make roughly $135 million a year from charging higher fees to your cable and satellite provider, and another $165 million from "synergies" - their word for laying people off.

And the law is on our side. When a merger gives one company this much control over a market, federal antitrust law presumes it's illegal. In every single NC market affected by this deal, the concentration blows past the legal threshold. It's not a close call, and that's probably why they tried to skip the part where a judge weighs in.

Our emergency motion was just filed. I'll keep you posted.

- AG Jeff Jackson