Boise’s KTVB-TV has been sold. But President Trump may have the final say
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Kevin Fixler, Idaho Statesman
BOISE (Idaho Statesman) – Could President Donald Trump scuttle the sale of one of Boise’s local TV stations?
The nation’s chief executive this week threw cold water on a Federal Communications Commission plan to lift the cap on the total stations one broadcasting company may own. The move is required to allow the planned merger of two U.S. TV news companies, which includes KTVB-TV in Boise, announced in a deal valued at $6.2 billion.
“If this would also allow the Radical Left Networks to ‘enlarge,’ I would not be happy,” the Republican president wrote Monday on his social media platform. “NO EXPANSION OF THE FAKE NEWS NETWORKS. If anything, make them SMALLER!”
Trump’s sudden stance seemingly conflicts with that of his FCC chairman appointee, Brendan Carr, who aims to reduce federal restrictions on the industry such as the TV ownership cap. Nexstar Media Group’s acquisition of Tegna, which owns KTVB and 63 other stations across 51 TV markets, is pending FCC approval.
Tegna also owns KTFT-TV in Twin Falls, as well as KREM-TV and KSKN-TV in Spokane, Washington.
Nexstar already is the largest operator of local TV stations in the U.S. with more than 200 stations in 116 U.S. markets, but none in Idaho. The deal, announced in August, would expand its reach to 265 local TV stations.
Nexstar and Tegna filed a joint application for the FCC to waive its TV ownership cap and transfer the broadcasting licenses last week. The cap is meant to limit the control of any one company over local TV and the newscasts they produce.
KTVB did not return a request Wednesday from the Idaho Statesman for comment on whether Trump’s recent comment may impact the proposed purchase of its parent company by Nexstar. Neither did Tegna nor Nexstar.
But in a statement to industry website Deadline Hollywood on Monday, Nexstar said it was confident the deal for Tegna would still go through.
“We continue to believe that the landscape is ripe for regulatory reform and that we are on the path to completing our transaction,” the statement read. “We agree with President Trump that the status quo is no longer acceptable, nor should the government do anything to strengthen the stranglehold of legacy media and Big Tech on the marketplace of ideas.”
Shares of Nexstar, which were trading at $190, fell by 3.6% on Monday off Trump’s social media post, Reuters reported. It rebounded and closed Wednesday above $191 per share.
Shares of Tegna, which were selling at $20 apiece Monday, also fell 5.5%. It closed Wednesday back up to $19.53. Nexstar’s purchase agreement calls for the company to pay $22 for each share in Tegna — a 31% premium of its 30-day average stock price.
If approved by federal regulators, the local TV station merger is expected to close by the middle of 2026.
“There are things that Tegna does very well, and we’re looking forward to taking the best of both companies and putting them together to build this strong new company,” Nexstar founder and CEO Perry Sook told Fox Business last week.
KTVB is the Boise affiliate for NBC. The Boise affiliates for CBS and ABC also are in the middle of a potential merger.
On Monday, media giant Sinclair made an unsolicited offer to buy Scripps, The Associated Press reported. Sinclair already owns KBOI-TV (Channel 2, CBS) and Scripps owns KIVI-TV (Channel 6, ABC) in the Boise market.