*(Via UrbanHollywood411) – The legal wrangling between Marshall Broadcasting Group (MBG) and Nexstar Media Group is set to take a new turn, with oral arguments in a lawsuit between the two companies scheduled to begin in New York State Supreme Court on Monday, September 9, 2019.
MBG filed the lawsuit in April and accused Nexstar of trying to torpedo its efforts to operate independently.
“Nexstar is a bully, and sometimes you have to hit back at bullies,” Pluria Marshall Jr., MBG president and CEO, told Urban Hollywood 411 in a recent phone interview.
“We would like, for lack of a better term, due process,” Marshall added.
Nexstar sold MBG three small-market TV stations — KPEJ-TV in Odessa, TX; KMSS-TV in Shreveport, LA.; and KLJB-TV in Rock Island, IL — in 2014, after being forced to divest some of its assets because of Federal Communications Commission ownership rules, as it looked to win government approval for other acquisitions.
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The lawsuit alleges Nexstar — one of the largest local TV operators in the country — is now scheming to get the stations back in hopes that it will face fewer regulatory rules under President Trump’s administration than it did when President Obama was in the White House.
MBG said when it filed the lawsuit that Nexstar chose the company as buyer because it knew the FCC would look favorably on a sale to a minority-owned entity, as the government sought to increase diversity among commercial television ownership ranks.
As part of obtaining FCC approval, Nexstar agreed to guarantee MBG’s credit for five years. But MBG alleges the media giant tried to withdraw its financial support early.
The lawsuit additionally accuses Nexstar of trying to “sabotage” operations at the three TV stations to diminish their value and buy them back at bargain-basement prices.
This article continues at UrbanHollwood411.
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