WASHINGTON, Feb 7 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday publicly backed a proposed merger between local television station operator Nexstar Media and its smaller rival Tegna.

“We need more competition against THE ENEMY, the Fake News National TV Networks,” Trump wrote in a social media post. “GET THAT DEAL DONE!”

Nexstar last year proposed a $3.54 billion acquisition of Tegna that would make the combined entity the largest U.S. regional TV station operator, with more leverage with advertisers and pay-TV distributors. Local media is grappling with falling revenue and subscriber loss because of the popularity of streaming services.

Trump’s Saturday post on Truth Social seems to strike a different tone from November, when he criticized a proposal to lift the current cap on local television station ownership, a move that is necessary for Tegna’s acquisition by Nexstar.

Nexstar owns or partners with more than 200 stations and operates brands such as The CW and NewsNation, while Tegna runs 64 stations and networks, including True Crime Network and Quest.

(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani and Jason Lange; Editing by Toby Chopra, Rod Nickel)

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