CALIFORNIA — A federal judge late Friday put a hold on the $6.2 billion merger between Nexstar Media Group and Tegna. U.S. District Judge Troy L. Nunley in California granted a request from DirecTV, which argued that the pending merger violates federal antitrust laws.

Nunley issued a 14-day temporary restraining order and scheduled an April 7 hearing. Judge Nunley ordered that Nexstar and Tegna must operate separately and may not share any competitively sensitive information, including any information related to retransmission fee negotiations. In his 24-page ruling, Nunley wrote, "Plaintiff asserts Nexstar's proposed merger with Tegna will drive up the cost of television service to tens of millions of Americans, shutter local newsrooms around the country, substantially reduce competition in dozens of local markets, and harm consumers."

The court order came one day after Nexstar announced on March 19 that the Tegna deal had closed following FCC and Justice Department approvals. DirecTV had sued Nexstar and Tegna on March 18, arguing in a lawsuit that the merger would irreparably drive up consumer costs, reduce local competition, shutter local newsrooms, and increase blackouts of key local teams and network programming.

Eight attorneys general, led by California's Rob Bonta, filed a separate lawsuit on similar antitrust grounds. The Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Justice approved the merger earlier this month.

The FCC waived a rule barring any single company from owning television stations that reach more than 39% of U.S. households to green-light the merger. The combined entity would cover at least 60% of U.S. households. FCC Commissioner Anna M. Gomez criticized the decision, saying the agency blessed the merger behind closed doors with no open process, no full Commission vote, and no transparency for consumers.

"The transaction is essential to sustaining strong local journalism in the communities we serve," said Perry Sook, Chief Executive Officer. According to the FCC, Nexstar has committed to divesting six stations across six different markets and to commitments on affordability and localism.

The deal would result in a company with 259 full-power stations affiliated with networks including ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC. The deal would give the combined company reach across 80% of U.S. TV households. Nexstar operates 201 stations in 116 television markets, while Tegna operates 64 full-power broadcast television stations.