Massive Changes Coming to Colorado TV Stations in 2025

The media landscape in Colorado will be changing significantly over the course of the next few years.

When you turn on your local tv news at night you might watch CBS, ABC, or NBC. However, the actual companies that own and operate these news programs are different entities entirely.

A major deal amongst two of these companies just went through which will affect Northern Colorado news coverage.

Get our free mobile app

Nexstar Acquires Tegna: A $6.2 Billion Deal Affecting Colorado TV Stations

Earlier this week, news came out that broadcast giant Nexstar brokered a massive deal to acquire one of its biggest competitors Tegna, according to a report from AdWeek.

The $6.2 billion deal will see Nexstar operate 265 full powered tv stations across 44 states including Washington D.C.

Nexstar currently owns 201 stations across the country while Tegna has 64. 

To put this into perspective, once Nexstar officially gets all of these Tegna stations, they will cover 80% of all U.S. households. That means they will have stations in 41 of the top 50 markets in the country, according to reports.

How Federal Ownership Limits Could Change Colorado Local News

For the past three decades, there has been a 39% limit on ownership of news stations, according to Deadline. This has been something that has received bipartisan support from Federal lawmakers for years.

This deal still requires approval from the FCC and is expected to close in six to nine months.

The CEO of Nexstar Perry Sook has been vocally against this limit and has pushed for the President and the Federal Communications Commission to change this standard.

What the Nexstar-Tegna Merger Means for Northern Colorado Viewers

You might be wondering, what exactly does this mean for me?

Nexstar currently has a hold in three markets in the Centennial State: Grand Junction/Montrose (KREX, KGJT-CD), Colorado Springs (KXRM, KXTU-LD), and Denver (KDVR, KWGN).

Once the acquisition goes through, they will oversee the following Tegna stations:

• KTVD (Denver, CO)
• KUSA (Denver, CO)

They will have a massive hold on local news out here in Northern Colorado. There is no word on whether jobs will be affected or when exactly this transition will go through.

We will keep you updated as more information comes out.

The local news and journalism landscape is changing rapidly here in NoCo.

Northern Colorado Journalism Landscape Shifts With Nexstar Expansion

9News Denver's Kyle Clark shared his thoughts about the acquisition during a broadcast. You can watch that video down below.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Kyle Clark (@kyleclark9news)

Stay up to date with everything going on in Northern Colorado and beyond by downloading the free station app from your app store.

Also, do not forget to follow the station across all social media platforms for the latest news updates.