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Three TV stations, one owner: What’s at risk? • Iowa Capital Dispatch [1]

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Date: 2025-08-20

The announced merger of companies that own local TV stations will have a huge impact around the country, but especially in Des Moines where the combined company would own three local stations, including two of the top three.

Nexstar already owns the largest number of local television stations in the country, more than 200. It owns WHO-TV Channel 13 in Des Moines. It announced plans Tuesday to buy Tegna, which owns 64 stations, including WOI-TV Channel 5 and KCWI-TV Channel 23 in Des Moines.

(For context, Tegna, is a 2015 spin-off from Gannett, which owns the Des Moines Register. Back then, newspaper profits had slumped so badly they were dragging down the value of Gannett’s profitable TV holdings, prompting the company to split its print and broadcast divisions.)

If regulators approve, Nexstar would grow to a huge portfolio of about 265 stations. It would also blow right past ownership limits that the FCC has placed on stations for decades.

Existing rules prohibit any station owner from reaching more than 39% of U.S households. The rules also prohibit any company from owning two of the top four rated stations in any market. A super-sized Nexstar will need federal approval to own both WHO and WOI, the second- and third-rated stations in Des Moines.

The TV business has changed

Station owners have been demanding an end to the limits for years. They argue tech giants like Meta and Google have sucked up so many advertising dollars that it’s unfair to artificially limit TV station consolidation.

Ted Stephens, retired general manager at KDSM-TV in Des Moines, told me television streaming has siphoned off many viewers. “The broadcast business model has completely deteriorated over the last few years,” Stephens said. “Station mergers like Nextstar/Tegna are inevitable in order for the majority of lower-rated stations to survive.”

But media consolidation critics say these mergers come at a real cost to local communities, where fewer independent stations mean fewer unique voices, especially when it comes to local news.

President Donald Trump’s Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr has been advocating removing or at least loosening these so-called ownership caps. Now he has the chance to do it.

Possible outcomes

Here are three possible outcomes if Nexstar is allowed to keep WHO, WOI, and KCWI:

1. The FCC says no: Regulators could decide that’s simply too much, and require Nexstar to sell off one of the stations to a different company.

2. Business as usual. Nexstar could continue to operate all three stations independently, maintaining separate staff, programming, and newsrooms.

3. Consolidation: Nexstar could find ways to combine station operations in some ways and trim expenses. It could decide to end WOI’s newscasts and simply simulcast WHO’s news on WOI. It could also do something short of that, like keep separate anchor teams and studios, but have reporters in the field produce stories for both stations’ newscasts.

Why that matters to you

That last scenario would impact news consumers the most. Although WOI’s newscasts have historically garnered much lower ratings than KCCI or WHO, it’s still an independent voice in the community. If you, your company or your organization have a story to tell, and KCCI or WHO decline, there’s a chance WOI might do the story. Under scenario #3, that would disappear.

A single owner of WHO, WOI and KCWI could also work in tandem to increase advertising rates in the market, which your local car dealer or grocery store would not be happy about.

And let’s not forget the dreaded blackouts. When cable or streaming companies (like YouTube TV) can’t reach a deal with station owners, stations go dark — sometimes for weeks or months. WOI was off Mediacom for a full year over a retransmission dispute.

With all three stations under one roof, Nexstar would have even more leverage in these negotiations. If those negotiations go south, viewers could lose not just one channel — but three.

To be clear, none of this is guaranteed. Multiple regulators will need to approve the Nexstar-Tegna deal. But the pressure is mounting — from broadcasters who want to consolidate, from regulators debating old rules in a digital age, and from viewers and businesses who may be caught in the crossfire.

This likely is only the first of what could be a significant wave of deals. The media landscape in Des Moines — and across the country — could soon look very different.

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[1] Url: https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2025/08/20/three-tv-stations-one-owner-whats-at-risk/

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