Justice OK With Tegna-Midwest TV Deal

The Justice Department said it has no problem with Tegna's proposed deal to buy Midwest Television's KFMB suite of TV and radio stations for $325 million.

That deal was on a list of proposed mergers that got early termination of its Hart Scott Rodino antitrust review.

That means neither Justice nor the Federal Trade Commission--they divvy up the reviews--saw any reason to block or condition the deal on antitrust grounds.

The FCC still has to sign off, but the Justice seal of approval is a good sign; the agencies usually coordinate reviews.

Tegna will get CBS affiliate KFMB-TV, digital multicast channel KFMB-D2 (CW), as well as radio stations KFMB-AM-FM.

Tegna will pay for the stations, subject to FCC approval, with a combination of cash and an existing credit facility. The company has said it expected the deal to close by the first quarter.

And the company may not be done buying. "[W]e will continue to evaluate additional investments and select transactions to build on our growth and success with a focus on creating shareholder value," said Tegna president David Lougee at the time of the deal announcement.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.