Cox Media Group
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Media |
| Founded | December 2008 |
| Founder | Cox Enterprises |
| Headquarters | United States |
Area served | Southern United States, Pacific Northwest, Eastern Midwest, Northeast United States |
Key people | Kim Guthrie (President) |
| Products | Radio stations, television stations, cable news channel (PCNC), digital media services, advertising services |
| Owner | Apollo Global Management (71%), Cox Enterprises (29%) |
CMG Media Corporation (operating under the name Cox Media Group) is a U.S.-based media conglomerate predominantly controlled by Apollo Global Management with a 71% ownership share, while Cox Enterprises retains a 29% minority interest. The enterprise manages a portfolio of radio and television outlets spanning the Southern states, Pacific Northwest, Eastern Midwest, and Northeast regions, including the regional cable news channel Pittsburgh Cable News Channel (PCNC).
Originally established in December 2008 by Cox Enterprises through the consolidation of its publishing and broadcasting units, the present-day Cox Media Group was restructured on December 17, 2019. This followed Apollo's acquisition of the initial CMG alongside Cox’s advertising division Gamut and Northwest Broadcasting, previously owned by Brian Brady.
History
In December 2008, Cox Enterprises unified Cox Newspapers, Cox Radio, and Cox Television into a single digital media entity, marking a strategic departure from organizing its subsidiaries by individual publishing platforms.
By August 2009, CMG reorganized its radio, television, newspaper/publishing, and digital holdings under one consolidated division to enhance operational efficiency and management cohesion. Dayton, Ohio served as a pilot market where these assets were physically and functionally integrated. In other regions, senior management teams oversee multiple media properties collectively. The group also encompasses digital sales through Cox Digital Solutions, national television sales via Cox Reps, and direct mail marketing services such as Kudzu.com, Savings.com, and Valpak.
In October 2010, CMG introduced DealSwarm, a group-buying discount initiative operating in cities like Atlanta and Austin to boost local business participation.
July 2012 saw CMG declare intentions to divest radio stations in smaller markets including Birmingham and Louisville and to spin off lower-market television stations. This move aimed to concentrate resources on larger or clustered markets for improved operational effectiveness.
April 2013 marked the launch of Rare.us, an online conservative news platform designed to broaden CMG’s digital media presence. After an initial period of slow growth, it gained momentum through active social media engagement.
Early in 2013, CMG sold multiple radio stations to SummitMedia and Connoisseur Media and transferred ownership of four television stations plus one local marketing agreement to Sinclair Broadcast Group as part of a strategic realignment towards core markets.
By October 2014, Cox Digital Solutions was rebranded as Gamut to focus on over-the-top (OTT) media services. CMG concentrated on traditional linear television and radio operations while Gamut specialized in OTT and Connected TV solutions.
Sale of majority stake to Apollo Global Management
On July 24, 2018, Cox Enterprises announced it was "evaluating strategic alternatives" for the television station assets within Cox Media Group, potentially involving partnerships or mergers. CMG president Kim Guthrie emphasized that the company was pursuing a merger or partnership rather than an outright sale.
On February 15, 2019, Cox revealed that Apollo Global Management would acquire a controlling interest in CMG’s television stations, Dayton radio outlets, and Ohio newspapers affiliated with WHIO-TV. This transaction created a new entity retaining CMG’s existing management framework while Cox Enterprises maintained a minority ownership position. Certain radio stations along with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution were excluded from this agreement. In March 2019 FCC filings, Apollo disclosed plans for the new company—initially named Terrier Media—to purchase these assets for $3.1 billion (adjusted for Cox’s equity).
By March 2019, Cox was exploring options regarding its remaining radio properties; The Atlanta Journal-Constitution remained outside any potential transaction. On June 26, 2019, Cox announced that its radio stations, national advertising division CoxReps, and local OTT advertising agency Gamut would also be acquired by the Apollo-backed entity. The company retained the Cox Media Group brand instead of adopting Terrier Media. To comply with regulatory requirements, divestitures were necessary for one radio station each in the Orlando and Tampa Bay markets.
The FCC granted approval for both acquisitions along with Apollo’s $384 million purchase of Northwest Broadcasting on November 22, 2019. Conditions included limiting Ohio newspaper publication frequency to three days per week and surrendering licenses for two Northwest stations to meet ownership regulations. To avoid conflicts with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Cox Enterprises reduced its stake in CMG to a nonattributable interest. The acquisition finalized on December 17, 2019.
On February 10, 2020, Cox Enterprises reacquired the Dayton Daily News, Journal-News, and Springfield News-Sun from CMG, regaining full ownership and reuniting these publications with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. This sale was completed on March 2.
On February 22, 2022, Standard General and Apollo announced their intent to purchase Tegna Inc., with Apollo holding non-voting shares. Under this arrangement, Standard General planned to sell several stations to CMG while CMG would acquire Tegna’s Dallas–Fort Worth, Houston, and Austin stations; WFXT was slated for divestiture to Standard General. The deal received approval on May 17, 2022; however following an FCC administrative hearing initiated in February 2023, the transaction was terminated on May 22, 2023.
On March 30, 2022, Cox Media Group declared it would sell eighteen television stations across twelve markets to Imagicomm Communications for an undisclosed sum; this deal closed on August 1.
In June 2024, Cox Media Group implemented workforce reductions primarily impacting lower-tier management and on-air staff; precise details were not publicly disclosed.
Controversy
In December 2023, 404 Media revealed that Cox Media Group was promoting a service named "Active Listening" to advertisers, asserting it could utilize microphones on smartphones, smart TVs, and various other devices to deliver targeted advertisements. The presentation emphasized targeting options on "Google/Bing" and mentioned Cox Media Group's status as a Google Premier Partner. Nevertheless, Google subsequently announced that Cox Media Group had been removed from its Partners Program after conducting a review.
Radio stations
Cox Media Group manages or offers sales and marketing support for 50 radio stations spanning 10 markets, which include nine AM and forty-one FM outlets.
Originally public, Cox Radio became predominantly owned by Cox Enterprises in 1996. In 2009, Cox Enterprises made an acquisition proposal initially valued at $69 million, later raising the offer to $4.80 per share. This transaction was finalized on June 1, 2009, resulting in the full incorporation of Cox Radio into Cox Enterprises.
- (**) — denotes a station constructed and launched by Cox.
| AM Station | FM Station |
|---|
Current
| Market | Station | Owned since | Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jacksonville, FL | WOKV 690 | 2000 | Sports (ESPN Radio) |
| WAPE-FM 95.1 | 2000 | Contemporary hit radio | |
| WOKV-FM 104.5 | 2000 | News/Talk | |
| WJGL 96.9 | 2000 | Classic hits | |
| WEZI 102.9 | 2000 | Soft adult contemporary | |
| WHJX 106.5 | 2006 | Urban adult contemporary | |
| Miami–Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood, FL | WEDR 99.1 | 2000 | Urban contemporary |
| WFLC 97.3 ** | 1946 | Rhythmic hot adult contemporary | |
| WFEZ 93.1 | 2000 | Soft adult contemporary | |
| WHQT 105.1 | 1992 | Urban adult contemporary | |
| Orlando, FL | WDBO 580 | 1997 | News/talk |
| WCFB 94.5 | 1997 | Urban adult contemporary | |
| WOEX 96.5 | 1997 | Bilingual AC | |
| WMMO 98.9 | 1997 | Classic hits | |
| WWKA 92.3 | 1997 | Country music | |
| Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater, FL | WDUV 105.5 | 1999 | Soft adult contemporary |
| WHPT 102.5 | 1999 | Hot talk | |
| WTBV 101.5 | 1999 | Urban adult contemporary | |
| WWRM 94.9 | 1993 | Hot adult contemporary | |
| WXGL 107.3 | 1988 | Classic hits | |
| Atlanta, GA | WSB 750 | 1939 | News/talk |
| WALR-FM 104.1 | 2000 | Urban adult contemporary | |
| WSBB-FM 95.5 | 1999 | Simulcasts WSB (AM) | |
| WSB-FM 98.5 ** | 1948 | Adult contemporary | |
| WSRV 97.1 | 2000 | Classic hits | |
| Athens, GA | WGAU 1340 | 2008 | News/talk |
| WRFC 960 | 2008 | Sports | |
| WGMG 102.1 | 2008 | Adult contemporary | |
| WNGC 106.1 | 2008 | Country | |
| WPUP 100.1 | 2008 | Contemporary hit radio | |
| WXKT 103.7 | 2008 | Adult hits |
Former
| Market | Station | Present Ownership |
|---|---|---|
| Baltimore, MD | WLIF 101.9 | Currently held by Audacy, Inc. |
| Birmingham, AL | WAGG 610 | Under ownership of SummitMedia |
| WENN 1320 | Owned by SummitMedia | |
| WBHJ 95.7 | Controlled by SummitMedia | |
| WBHK 98.7 | Possessed by SummitMedia | |
| WBPT 106.9 | Held by SummitMedia | |
| WZNN 97.3 | Owned by SummitMedia | |
| WZZK-FM 104.7 | Under SummitMedia's ownership | |
| Bridgeport, CT | WEZN-FM 99.9 | Currently owned by Connoisseur Media |
| New Haven, CT | WPLR 99.1 | Held by Connoisseur Media |
| Stamford–Norwalk, CT | WFOX 95.9 | Owned by Connoisseur Media |
| Orlando, FL | WPYO 95.3 | Under the ownership of Spanish Broadcasting System |
| Tampa–St. Petersburg, FL | WSUN 97.1 | Owned by Spanish Broadcasting System |
| Honolulu, HI | KKNE 940 | Possessed by SummitMedia |
| KRTR 650 | Controlled by SummitMedia | |
| KCCN-FM 100.3 | Held under SummitMedia ownership | |
| KINE-FM 105.1 | Owned by SummitMedia | |
| KPHW 104.3 | Managed by SummitMedia | |
| KRTR-FM 96.3 | Owned by SummitMedia | |
| Louisville, KY | WRKA 103.9 | Under SummitMedia ownership |
| WQNU 103.1 | Held by SummitMedia | |
| WSFR 107.7 | Owned by SummitMedia | |
| WVEZ 106.9 | Managed by SummitMedia | |
| Greenville–Spartanburg, SC | WHZT 98.1 | Held under SummitMedia control |
| WJMZ-FM 107.3 | Owned by SummitMedia | |
| Houston–Galveston, TX | KHPT 106.9 | Currently owned by Urban One |
| KGLK 107.5 | Controlled by Urban One | |
| KKBQ 92.9 | Under Urban One's ownership | |
| KTHT 97.1 | Owned by the Educational Media Foundation | |
| Richmond, VA | WJSR 100.9 | Managed by SummitMedia |
| WKHK 95.3 | Held under SummitMedia ownership | |
| WKLR 96.5 | Owned by SummitMedia | |
| WURV 103.7 | Controlled by SummitMedia |
Talk shows
- Clark Howard (distributed by Westwood One)
- Rick and Bubba (distributed through Syndicated Solutions)
Television stations
The stations are organized alphabetically by state and city of license.
- (**) - Denotes stations originally constructed and launched by Cox.
Current
| City of license / Market | Station | Channel TV (RF) |
Ownership since | Network affiliation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jacksonville, FL | WFOX-TV | 30 (14) | 2012 | |
| WJAX-TV | 47 (19) | 2012 | CBS | |
| Orlando–Daytona Beach, FL | WFTV | 9 (35) | 1985 | ABC |
| WRDQ | 27 (27) | 2001 | Independent | |
| Atlanta, GA | WSB-TV ** | 2 (32) | 1948 | ABC |
| Boston, MA | WFXT | 25 (34) | 2014 | Fox |
| Charlotte, NC | WSOC-TV | 9 (19) | 1959 |
|
| WAXN-TV | 64 (32) | 2000 | Independent | |
| Dayton, OH | WHIO-TV ** | 7 (33) | 1949 | CBS |
| Eugene, OR | KLSR-TV | 34 (31) | 2022 | Fox |
| KEVU-CD | 23 (23) | 2022 | MyNetworkTV | |
| Pittsburgh, PA | WPXI | 11 (23) | 1964 | NBC |
| Seattle–Tacoma, WA | KIRO-TV | 7 (23) | 1997 |
|
Former
| City of license / Media market | Station | Channel | Ownership period | Present status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yuma, AZ–El Centro, CA | KYMA-DT | 11 | 2019–2020 | Ceased operations; license relinquished in 2020. CMG managed via shared services agreement. NBC content transferred to KSWT subchannel. |
| KSWT/KYMA-DT | 13 | 2019–2022 | CBS affiliate currently owned by Imagicomm Communications | |
| Eureka, CA | KIEM-TV | 3 | 2019–2022 | NBC affiliate under Imagicomm Communications ownership |
| KVIQ-LD | 14 | 2019–2022 | CBS affiliate managed by Imagicomm Communications | |
| Oakland–San Francisco–San Jose, CA | KTVU | 2 | 1963–2014 | Fox owned-and-operated station; sold to Fox Television Stations in an exchange deal. |
| KICU-TV | 36 | 2000–2014 | MyNetworkTV affiliate formerly managed by Fox Television Stations. | |
| WCKT ** (Miami–Fort Lauderdale, FL) | 7 | 1956–1962 | Former Fox affiliate now operated by Sunbeam Television. | |
| KPVI-DT (Pocatello–Idaho Falls, ID) | 6 | 2019–2022 | NBC affiliate under Imagicomm Communications ownership. | |
| KLAX-TV (Alexandria, LA) | 31 | 2019–2022 | ABC affiliate controlled by Imagicomm Communications. | |
| KWCE-LP | 27 | 2019–2021 | License surrendered; station defunct since 2021. | |
| WKBD-TV (Detroit, MI) | 50 | 1984–1993 | Now a CW affiliate owned by CBS News and Stations. | |
| WABG-TV (Greenville–Greenwood, MS) | 6 | 2019–2022 | ABC affiliate held by Imagicomm Communications. | |
| WNBD-LD | 33 | 2019–2022 | NBC affiliate owned by Imagicomm Communications. | |
| WXVT-LD | 17 | 2019–2022 | CBS affiliate controlled by Imagicomm Communications. | |
| WFXW | 15 | 2019–2020 | Owned-and-operated by Tri-State Christian Television; operated under SSA. | |
| WICZ-TV (Binghamton, NY) | 40 | 2019–2022 | Fox affiliate under Imagicomm Communications ownership. | |
| WBPN-LP | 10 | 2019–2021 | Defunct; license surrendered in 2021. | |
| WSYT (Syracuse, NY) | 68 | 2019–2022 | Fox affiliate managed by Imagicomm Communications. | |
| WNYS-TV | 43 | 2019–2020 | Defunct; license relinquished in 2020. | |
| KDNL-TV (St. Louis, MO) | 30 | 1982–1989 | ABC affiliate currently owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group. | |
| KRXI-TV and KAME-TV (Reno, NV) | 11 and 21 | 1995–2013 | Fox and MyNetworkTV affiliates formerly operated or sold to Sinclair Broadcast Group and Deerfield Media respectively. | |
| WTOV-TV (Steubenville, OH – Wheeling, WV) | 9 | 2000–2013 | NBC affiliate now part of Sinclair Broadcast Group. | |
| KOKI-TV and KMYT-TV (Tulsa, OK) | 23 and 41 | 2012–2022 | Fox and MyNetworkTV affiliates currently owned by Imagicomm Communications. | |
| KMVU-DT and KFBI-LD (Medford, OR) | 26 and 48 | 2019–2022 | Fox and MyNetworkTV affiliates held by Imagicomm Communications. | |
| WJAC-TV (Johnstown – Altoona, PA) | 6 | 2000–2013 | NBC affiliate now with Sinclair Broadcast Group. | |
| WHBQ-TV (Memphis, TN) | 13 | 2014–2022 | Fox affiliate presently owned by Imagicomm Communications. | |
| KFOX-TV (El Paso, TX) | 14 | 1996–2013 | Fox affiliate now part of Sinclair Broadcast Group. | |
| KSTW (Tacoma – Seattle, WA) | 11 | 1997 | Independent station currently owned by CBS News and Stations. | |
| KAYU-TV (Spokane, WA) | 28 | 2019–2022 | Fox affiliate under Imagicomm Communications ownership. | |
| KFFX-TV and KCYU-LD (Tri-Cities – Yakima, WA) | 11 and 41 | 2019–2022 | Fox affiliates owned by Imagicomm Communications; KCYU-LD operates as a semi-satellite of KFFX-TV. |
Cable networks
Divested properties
Assets formerly held by Cox Newspapers Inc. or CMG:
Daily publications
- Dayton Daily News, located in Dayton, Ohio
- Journal-News, based in Hamilton, Ohio
- Springfield News-Sun, serving Springfield, Ohio
- The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, headquartered in Atlanta
- Austin American-Statesman, from Austin, Texas
- Chandler Arizonan, published in Chandler, Arizona
- The Daily Advance, issued in Elizabeth City, North Carolina
- The Daily Reflector, covering Greenville, North Carolina
- The Daily Sentinel, of Nacogdoches, Texas
- The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, serving Grand Junction, Colorado
- Longview News-Journal, based in Longview, Texas
- The Lufkin Daily News, from Lufkin, Texas
- The Marshall News Messenger, located in Marshall, Texas
- Mesa Tribune, published in Mesa, Arizona
- Miami News, Miami, Florida
- Orange Leader, of Orange, Texas
- Palm Beach Daily News, serving Palm Beach, Florida
- The Palm Beach Post, based in West Palm Beach, Florida
- Palo Verde Valley Times, from Blythe, California
- Port Arthur News, published in Port Arthur, Texas
- Rocky Mount Telegram, serving Rocky Mount, North Carolina
- Scottsdale Progress, located in Mesa, Arizona
- Tempe Daily News, based in Tempe, Arizona
- Waco Tribune-Herald, covering Waco, Texas
Weekly publications
- Beaufort-Hyde News, issued in Belhaven, North Carolina
- Bertie Ledger-Advance, located in Windsor, North Carolina
- The Chowan Herald, from Edenton, North Carolina
- The Duplin Times, based in Kenansville, North Carolina
- The Enterprise, serving Williamston, North Carolina
- Farmville Enterprise of North Carolina
- The Nickel-Grand Junction, published in Grand Junction, Colorado
- Perquimans Weekly, located in Elizabeth City, North Carolina
- Standard Laconic of Snow Hill, North Carolina
- Times-Leader serving Ayden-Grifton, North Carolina
- Weekly Herald from Robersonville, North Carolina
Online platforms
- Rare, headquartered in Washington, D.C.