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 ( NXST ) and Tegna ( TGNA ).

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."