Entertainment
Nexstar Slams Injunction Pausing Tegna Merger in Expedited Appeal Request
Not only did Nexstar hit back at a lawsuit filed by DirecTV and multiple state attorneys general that sought to disrupt its $6.2 billion merger with Tegna, the company also slammed the injunction pausing the deal.
The multimedia conglomerate requested an expedited appeal with the Ninth Circuit on Wednesday evening, where Nexstar slammed the federal judge’s preliminary injunction freezing the merger. In the document, the company railed against the injunction as a “straightjacket” that risked “profound harms” to Tegna. The request also suggested that a lengthy legal fight “locks Tegna stations into an outdated structure that was already under substantial strain, making it more likely Tegna will not survive while waiting for the transaction to be vindicated.”
Additionally, Nexstar, in a companion brief filed alongside the request, blasted the U.S. District Court’s decision as a blatant overstep, adding that it impacts “stations, operations and corporate functions that have nothing to do with plaintiffs’ alleged harms.”
“This Court should narrow the preliminary injunction to match the law and what plaintiffs actually allege,” it stated. “Plaintiffs fell far short of their burden for the extraordinary relief of a preliminary injunction of any kind, let alone one this sweeping.”
Nexstar also claimed that during the trial “the full evidentiary record will defeat plaintiffs’ claims,” adding that “defendants cannot wait for trial to challenge the scope of the injunction. With each passing day, the injunction’s unnecessary breadth inflicts unrecoverable harm. Worse still, it degrades the very assets it purports to protect.”
Nexstar’s filing came a month after U.S. District Judge Troy Nunley put the $6.2 billion merger on ice, in which he concluded that the deal would hinder competition by violating antitrust laws.
At the time, a Nexstar spokesperson said the company would appeal the decision, telling TheWrap, “This transaction closed more than four weeks ago following receipt of all required regulatory approvals from the Federal Communications Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice. Nexstar Media Group now owns TEGNA and has taken steps consistent with the Court order that has been in effect.”
“For nearly thirty years, Nexstar has provided free over-the-air access to all its broadcast stations — local news, weather, and community-focused programming alongside major network programming,” the statement continued. “This pro- competitive transaction will make local stations stronger and support continued investment in local journalism and fact-based news.”
Under the original terms of the deal, Nexstar would have had 265 television stations in 44 states and the District of Columbia, representing a reach of 80% of U.S. television households, adding Big-4 affiliate stations in Phoenix, Atlanta, Toledo and Portland. The combined company would have also had stations in nine of the top 10 markets, and in 41 of the top 50.
In order to close the deal, Nexstar agreed to divest six stations across six different DMAs and made commitments to affordability and localism.
Its approval was also subject to raising or eliminating the 39% national TV ownership cap put in place by Congress in 2004 to protect viewpoint diversity, as well as prevent monopolization. However, instead of modifying the ownership rules, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr granted the companies a waiver and defended that the decision would empower broadcast TV stations and foster local journalism.
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“The History of Concrete” surpassed the $1 million mark at the box office on Saturday, becoming the highest-grossing platform-distributed documentary of 2026. It reached the milestone after just 16 days in theaters.
Magnolia acquired “The History of Concrete” out of the Sundance Film Festival, where it attracted a great deal of coverage for its creator, John Wilson, the star of the cult favorite HBO series “How To with John Wilson.” The film examines urbanism and architecture and lives up to its title by chronicling the history of concrete in an absurdist fashion (Wilson tries to make the film in the style of a Hallmark movie).
“The History of Concrete” grossed just over $450,000 from 160 screens over the weekend, putting its total at just north of $1.2 million. That’s a huge number for a documentary and a testament to the fan base that Wilson has developed.
“The History of Concrete” already shattered records at the IFC Center, becoming its second highest-grossing debut behind “Parasite.” This weekend, Magnolia saw strong numbers for the film in many markets, including a $47,510 week at the Music Box in Chicago, $34,534 at BAM in Brooklyn, and $24,653 at the Balboa, a small neighborhood theater in San Francisco. Low Cinema, a theater that Wilson operates in Ridgewood, Queens, has sold out every show of “History of Concrete” through the end of October. Audiences at the arthouses were predominantly comprised of younger moviegoers, the same demographic driving cinemas’ comeback this year.
“The History of Concrete” has yet to match the grosses of other documentaries this year that debuted on many more screens. “Melania,” Brett Ratner’s penetrating exploration of the life of First Lady Melania Trump, packed in the MAGA faithful to the tune of $16.7 million. That would be a strong result had Amazon MGM Studios not shelled out $40 million to buy the film and tens of millions more to market it. The suspiciously large price tag suggested Jeff Bezos might have had more on his mind than just a love of nonfiction moviemaking. President Donald Trump later reported that he and his wife made $10.71 million in licensing fees from the deal. America, right?
Neon also scored with “EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert,” which opened across 325 Imax theaters (not as a platform roll-out like “The History of Concrete”) and ultimately earned $23.5 million globally and $13.6 million domestically. In its second weekend, “EPiC” was playing in 1,963 theaters. “Melania” opened across 1,778 screens.
In terms of documentaries that were rolled out in a platform fashion instead of going wide first, Kino Lorber’s “Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World” earned $773,430, the independently released “Steal This Story, Please!” netted $750,077, and Watermelon Pictures’ “American Doctor” earned $470,159.
The success of “The History of Concrete” is good news for Magnolia, which also had a surprise hit last summer with John Early’s directorial debut, “Maddie’s Secret.”
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After cracks about Pete Hegseth, Kristi Noem and President Trump’s vendetta against CNN, Michael Che touched on the ongoing controversy at Cornell University and Ryan Murphy’s decision to bring back Glee.
Che first served up a serious note by referencing the sexual assault case at Cornell University and how “obviously we don’t want to make light of anything that happened, but it is a good time to talk about men holding other men accountable.”
As the camera panned toward to a silent Colin Jost, Che said, “Look, we all have that one friend that seems like a nice guy, but they’re definitely not.. It could be someone you’re close to, or someone you work with. Maybe you can’t prove anything. You can just look at him and tell those weird, privileged Ivy League types always got some messed up stuff going on.”
Che then turned to Jost and said, “Is there anything you want to add, Colin?”
“Stop cutting to me,” Jost responded.
Later, cast member Kam Patterson joined the desk to show his enthusiasm for the reboot of Glee. (Ryan Murphy recently said that he “just finished” a Glee reboot script). Che was a bit skeptical that Patterson is a true Gleek, despite Patterson claiming he was eager to find out if Rachel was still on Broadway and if Kurt and Blaine were still together.
But Che wasn’t convinced. “Look, I know you man. You don’t have to say yes to every day that a white writer pitches to you …. Look Kam. I’ve worked here, what, 30, 35 years. I know what this is. Two white writers came up to you in suits, pitched you an idea about Glee, and now you’re out here saying a bunch of names you’ve never heard before, right?”
Patterson admits he hasn’t and feels “pretty bad” that he “just did jazz hands on national television.”
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Just a month away from the volatile midterms and a president way down in the polls, there was once again a plethora of political material ripe for this week’s SNL cold open, and the NBC late-nighter went full MAGA, with some Mitch McConnell on the side.
Played by Mickey Day, the 84-year-old Kentucky senator offered a premature “Live from New York” before being cut off by RNC ad consultants desperate to turn things around for the GOP. There was a “He tricked us” Marco Rubio, portrayed by the always on point Marcello Hernández, and a 2028 J.D. Vance (Jeremy Culhane) that no one wanted to actually put in a spot.
Then there was Colin Jost’s Pete Hegseth, putting the fun in Defense Secretary once again.
“What’s up, schlong donkeys?” the Saturday Night Live Weekend Update co-anchor began in what might have been one of the greatest campaign ads ever (we’re talking 1954 Daisy level) if it was real. “Now listen up, okay, because I need all you patriots at home to do the gayest thing ever and vote. Thanks to me, the military finally has its priorities and sexuality straight.”
Tossing in some slam poetry, Jost’s Hegseth added: “In conclusion, vote, I guess. And remember, even if you’re stationed overseas, you can still vote by mail, which is the only by mail I’m cool with.”
Of course, this being a MAGA paraody and being SNL, the joke had to go further. Having said that, unlike many too-long cold open, this semi-morbid midterm skit work at the extra length – entirely because POTUS came to cook, base loathing and all.
“I’m President Trump and I approve this ramble,” started a typically and wonderfully unhinged James Austin Johnson.
Drawing from the fiction that is so much of Trumpland’s facts, he added in the fake ad: “We’re getting bogged out there, but not for long because I have a solution. If the Republicans win, I’ll give everyone $5,000, and that is not a bribe because I have no intention of following through on that promise.
“So, just pretend I’m on the ballot, okay? You have to use something called imagination. Imagination makes a MAGA nation. Wow, that’s pretty good. I can already see that written on the back of an obese woman’s booty shorts in dirty, disgusting Myrtle Beach. What a hell all this country is! It’s full of awful people.”
Perhaps but not in tonight’s spot-on cold open.
Delayed a tad again on the West Coast like last week’s season opener thanks to college football, tonight’s SNL is the second show of the 52nd season.
Verity star Dakota Johnson is hosting SNL for the third time. Coming off a big box office start for the Collen Hoover thriller, Johnson is joined by Turnstile as musical guest. This is the Maryland rockers’ SNL debut. Next week will see one-time dumped cast member Shane Gilis back for his third time hosting. The October 10 show will see the much-acclaimed Rosalía will be returning for her third SNL appearance.
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