By Federal Communications Commission standards, Nexstar Broadcasting of Irving, Texas, doesn't own Mission Broadcasting.

The FCC allows media companies to own two television stations in a market under certain conditions, but the FCC does not permit ownership of more than two.

However, recent developments make Mission and Nexstar look a lot like a single entity. And if they were a single entity, that entity would now own four TV stations in Little Rock.

Mission, of Westlake, Ohio, bought Little Rock TV stations KLRT-TV, Channel 16, and KASN-TV, Channel 38, about a month ago from Newport Television of Kansas City, Mo.

The move continued a business model established by the two companies over several years: Mission owns a television station, and Nexstar provides certain services--sales support, shared newsgathering resources and staff--to that Mission station, even when Nexstar owns competing television stations in the same market.

While Nexstar doesn't officially own Mission, it does hold a controlling interest in the company, according to generally accepted accounting principles. Publicly traded Nexstar acknowledges...