Premium

If $6.2B deal is approved, 3 Memphis TV stations would have 1 owner

By , Daily Memphian Updated: August 20, 2025 5:59 PM CT | Published: August 20, 2025 3:47 PM CT

If a proposed $6.2 billion deal between Nexstar Media Group and rival Tegna goes through, three of Memphis’ five primary television stations will have the same owner, a consolidation that could reduce the city’s broadcast news options.

Nexstar currently oversees more than 200 owned and partner stations in 116 markets nationwide, including WREG-TV, News Channel 3, in Memphis. Tegna owns 64 news stations in 51 markets, including two in Memphis: WATN-TV, the ABC affiliate, and WLMT-TV, the CW affiliate.

This is an excerpt of this story. To read more, please click here and subscribe.

Topics

WREG WATN WLMT broadcasting Nexstar Subscriber Only

Thank you for supporting local journalism.

Subscribers to The Daily Memphian help fund our not-for-profit newsroom of nearly 40 local journalists plus more than 20 freelancers, all of whom work around the clock to cover the issues impacting our community. Subscriptions - and donations - also help fund our community access programs which provide free access to K-12 schools, community organizations, and more. Thank you for making our work possible.

Jody Callahan

Jody Callahan graduated with degrees in journalism and economics from what is now known as the University of Memphis. He has covered news in Memphis for more than 25 years.


Comments

Want to comment on our stories or respond to others? Join the conversation by subscribing now. Only paid subscribers can add their thoughts or upvote/downvote comments. Our commenting policy can be viewed here