(NEXSTAR) — WBTW’s parent company Nexstar Media Group was approved by the Federal Communications Commission to merge with Tribune Media, setting Nexstar to become the biggest broadcast group in the United States, according to its Director of Digital Content, Austin Kellerman.
The FCC approval was announced Monday, and the sale is expected to close this week. According to the Commission, they found that viewers would benefit from Nexstar’s local stations having increased access to Nexstar’s Washington, DC, news bureau and state news bureaus.
Nexstar Media Group‘s existing 174 stations reach nearly 39% of all U.S. television households.
For Nexstar to continue compliance with local and national television ownership rules after the merger, the Commission also approved divestiture applications allowing the sales of 21 local television stations to broadcasters TEGNA Inc. The E.W. Scripps Company and Circle City Broadcasting I, Inc.
