March 19 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Justice has unconditionally cleared Nexstar's $3.5 billion deal to ‌acquire rival Tegna, Bloomberg News reported on ‌Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The report comes a ​day after a group of eight states filed a suit in the U.S. District Court in Sacramento, California, to block the merger that would make ‌the combined entity ⁠the largest U.S. broadcast station group.

Streaming and satellite TV provider DirecTV also filed ⁠a separate suit, seeking to prevent the deal, late on Wednesday.

The Justice Department has granted the companies ​what is ​known as early termination, ​meaning it has closed ‌its review of the deal, the Bloomberg report said.

Acquiring Tegna would expand Nexstar's presence covering 80% of TV households across key geographies and would require the Federal Communications Commission to lift the cap ‌on station ownership.

Nexstar, Tegna ​and the DOJ did not ​immediately respond to ​Reuters' requests for comment.

Last month, FCC Chair ‌Brendan Carr said he ​supported the deal ​and would be moving forward to approve it after President Donald Trump publicly backed the ​merger.

The DOJ ‌initiated an in-depth probe into the acquisition last ​year.

(Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City. ​Editing by Alan Barona)