March 20 (Reuters) - Eight states asked a U.S. judge on Friday to issue a temporary restraining order to stop the $3.5 billion merger of Nexstar Media Group and Tegna.

On Thursday, the local broadcast station owners received merger approval from the Federal Communications Commission and the U.S. Justice Department and said they had closed the transaction.

The states argue that the deal, which would create the largest broadcast station group in the U.S., would "put more broadcast programming in the hands of fewer people, cut local jobs, increase cable bills, and significantly impact the delivery of news and other media content to Americans nationwide."