By David Thomas and Mike Scarcella

April 17 (Reuters) – ‌A U.S. federal judge ‌on Friday halted Nexstar’s acquisition ​of rival broadcast station owner Tegna, issuing a preliminary injunction that freezes ‌the deal ⁠while antitrust challenges brought by DirecTV and ⁠a group of states proceed.

Chief U.S. District ​Judge Troy ​Nunley ​in Sacramento said ‌the plaintiffs were likely to succeed on their claims that the $3.54 billion deal will substantially lessen ‌competition in dozens ​of local ​television ​markets.

The court’s order bars ‌Nexstar from consolidating ​its ​operations with Tegna, but does not unwind the ​transaction.

(Reporting ‌by David Thomas and ​Mike Scarcella; Editing by ​Jasper Ward)