That seems likely if a plan by Nexstar becomes a reality. The company already owns two stations in the Buffalo market – WIVB, Channel 4 and WNLO, the CW. But due to a Trump FCC deregulation change, the broadcasting giant is looking at acquiring outlets owned by Tegna – the owner of arch-rival WGRZ-TV.
 
It means the CBS and NBC stations in the market would be owned by the same company.
 
Why does this matter? It likely won’t to Toronto viewers. But it might to those in Buffalo. Both stations have significant newsrooms that compete heavily against each other. (WKBW is no longer really a factor.) Would co-ownership mean a lessening of one of the news organizations in the market?
 
We’ve already seen what’s happened when one owner took over a ton of Buffalo radio stations. They no longer had to compete against each other and all of them were of lesser quality without that extra competitor nipping at their heels.
 
I’d hate to see this, because I think competition is the only thing that makes all stations better – because they have to be. But as it stands now, if the deal goes through, it will be interesting to see what happens in that market – and others across the U.S.
 
Either way, it’s a big deal. Nexstar owns or controls 200 TV stations in 116 American markets. Tegna owns 64 of their own.
 
So this could wind up being a very big change for broadcasting down south.
 
Report: Nexstar in advance talks to acquire rival Tegna