FCC Orders Nexstar to Sell WPIX New York or Other Stations, Levies $1.2 Million Fine Over Mission Broadcasting Pact
variety.comCynthia Littleton Business Editor The Federal Communications Commission has hit Nexstar Media Group and its business partner Mission Broadcasting with a $1.2 million fine and an order to sell WPIX-TV New York or other stations to come into compliance with longstanding station ownership limits.
The commission on Thursday issued a 42-page decision in its probe of Nexstar’s ties to Mission Broadcasting and whether their business agreement violated the FCC‘s reach limit on TV station ownership.
The commission’s concluded that Nexstar’s near-total oversight of WPIX’s operations gave the station giant effective control of precious TV industry real estate — a full-power broadcast TV station in the nation’s largest market.
The commission fined Mission $612,395 for its part in the activity. The regulatory dust-up stems from Nexstar’s $4.1 billion acquisition of Tribune Media in 2019.
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