Cox Media Group
Cox Media Group is a private, integrated broadcasting and digital media company operating six major-market U.S. television stations, radio station clusters, and the CMG Local Solutions digital advertising service, serving local and national advertisers plus small and medium businesses.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2008
- HeadquartersAtlanta, United States
- Headcount5,001–10,000
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Cox Media Group does
Cox Media Group (CMG) is a privately held, integrated broadcasting and digital media company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with 10,000+ employees operating across multiple U.S. regions. The company owns and operates a portfolio of major-market television stations (WSB-TV Atlanta, WFTV Orlando, WPXI-TV Pittsburgh, WHIO-TV Dayton, WSOC-TV Charlotte, KIRO-TV Seattle) and radio station clusters (WSB Radio Atlanta, HOT 105, K923 Orlando), complemented by the CMG Local Solutions digital advertising and marketing services brand. CMG sells advertising inventory across linear TV, radio, and digital channels to both local/national advertisers and small and medium businesses via direct sales teams structured under regional vice presidents and general managers.
The company's underlying technology stack centers on owned-and-operated broadcast infrastructure plus a partnership with Comscore for cross-platform local audience measurement covering all 210 U.S. Designated Market Areas. CMG Local Solutions layers data and analytics on top of the broadcast asset base to deliver customized digital advertising for SMB customers. The company has historically marketed AI-powered capabilities — most notably a 2023 'Active Listening' product — but the FTC found in 2026 that the AI/voice-processing claims were deceptive, with the underlying product actually relying on resold email lists rather than voice data, resulting in an $880,000 settlement.
CMG's revenue model is advertising-based across three primary streams: television advertising (traditional linear TV inventory), radio advertising (station clusters in Jacksonville, Atlanta, Orlando), and digital advertising via CMG Local Solutions. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is customized per advertiser. GTM motion is sales-led through regional and corporate sales teams. The company maintains an active social media presence across Facebook, X, Instagram, and LinkedIn, and runs an Investor Relations page, though no public listing, parent company, or specific ownership structure is disclosed in the available data.
Cox Media Group firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Cox Media Group
- Legal name
- Cox Media Group
- Website
- https://coxmediagroup.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2008
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 5,001–10,000 employees
- Short description
- Cox Media Group is a private, integrated broadcasting and digital media company operating six major-market U.S. television stations, radio station clusters, and the CMG Local Solutions digital advertising service, serving local and national advertisers plus small and medium businesses.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Cox Media Group industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Broadcast Media Advertising
- NAICS
- Television Broadcasting Stations (516120), Radio Broadcasting Stations (51611), Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers (5162)
- SIC
- Television Broadcasting Stations (4833), Radio Broadcasting Stations (4832), Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Local TV Station Groups (Owned & Operated/Station Chains) (MPABACAA)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Local Radio Station Groups (Owned & Operated/Station Chains) (MPABACAC)
Keywords
Where Cox Media Group is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Atlanta
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices4 records
Markets served
Cox Media Group business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Television Advertising: Traditional TV advertising remains a primary revenue stream, with CMG operating television stations in markets including Pittsburgh (WPXI-TV) and Dayton (WHIO-TV). The company emphasizes that TV and radio advertising are still the reigning king and queen of ROI, noting consumers spend 99 minutes with radio and 180 minutes with TV daily.
- Radio Advertising: Radio advertising represents a core revenue stream with CMG operating radio station clusters in Jacksonville and Atlanta. The company highlights radio's continued relevance despite digital competition, emphasizing listener engagement across its music and entertainment brands.
- Digital Advertising and Local Solutions: CMG Local Solutions provides customized digital advertising, marketing services, data and analytics to small businesses and advertisers seeking to engage local audiences through digital channels.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels1 record
Cox Media Group product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Cox Media Group (CMG) operates a portfolio of local, national, and digital media brands spanning owned-and-operated television stations (WSB-TV, WFTV, WPXI-TV, WHIO-TV, WSOC-TV, KIRO-TV) and radio stations (WSB Radio, K923 Orlando, HOT 105). The company sells television and radio advertising placements and offers customized digital advertising, marketing services, data, and analytics to local businesses through its CMG Local Solutions unit.
Product overview
Cox Media Group (CMG) is a media, news, and entertainment company operating a portfolio of local, national, and digital brands. The company operates multiple television stations (including WSB-TV Atlanta, WFTV Orlando, WPXI-TV Pittsburgh, WHIO-TV Dayton, WSOC-TV Charlotte, and KIRO-TV Seattle) and radio stations (such as WSB Radio Atlanta, K923 Orlando, and HOT 105 fm). CMG offers advertising services through traditional TV and radio placements as well as digital solutions via CMG Local Solutions, which provides customized digital advertising, marketing services, data and analytics for businesses seeking to reach and engage consumers.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- CMG Local Solutions: Digital advertising and marketing services offering customized digital advertising, data and analytics for local businesses.
- WSB-TV
- WFTV
- WPXI-TV
- WHIO-TV
- WSOC-TV
- KIRO
- HOT 105
- K923
Products and services
- CMG Local Solutions Digital advertising and marketing services offering customized digital advertising solutions, marketing services, data, and analytics for local businesses and advertisers seeking to reach and engage local audiences.
- Television Advertising Traditional broadcast advertising placements across CMG's owned television stations (WSB-TV, WFTV, WPXI-TV, WHIO-TV, WSOC-TV, KIRO-TV) targeting advertisers seeking to reach consumers during TV viewing.
- Radio Advertising Radio advertising placements across CMG's radio station clusters (WSB Radio Atlanta, K923 Orlando, HOT 105) reaching listeners through music, news, talk, and entertainment programming.
Quantifiable outcome
- Consumers spend 99 minutes with radio and 180 minutes with TV daily - nearly 5 hours of captive attention
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Cox Media Group
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Cox Media Group technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability2 records
Cox Media Group partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- ComscorecoreComscore announced agreements with more than 15 local broadcast station groups including Cox Media Group for cross-platform local measurement products covering all 210 U.S. Designated Market Areas. The partnerships reflect growing broadcaster demand for third-party measurement that accurately captures audience behavior across linear TV, CTV, and digital platforms. Comscore has positioned itself as the only measurement provider with both full JIC certification and MRC accreditation across all 210 local markets.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Cox Media Group competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Cumulus Media: Cumulus Media is a major US radio broadcasting operator with station clusters competing directly with CMG's Atlanta, Jacksonville, and Orlando radio stations. Both companies are exposed to the same secular pressures in radio advertising and pursue similar digital/audio extension strategies.
- Gray Television: Gray Television is a comparable US-based local broadcast TV group that competes for advertising dollars in many of the same markets as CMG. The two share a similar multi-station operating model, network affiliation economics, and digital advertising extension strategies.
- Townsquare Media: Townsquare Media is a US-based radio broadcasting and digital advertising company that competes with CMG in local radio and digital ad services for SMB advertisers. Both serve smaller and mid-sized markets with an integrated broadcast-plus-digital model.
- Hearst Television: Hearst Television operates a portfolio of local TV stations in many of the same major US markets as CMG (including Seattle-area stations near CMG's KIRO). It competes head-to-head for advertisers and political ad spending in shared DMAs.
- Tegna Inc. Tegna is a US local TV station operator that competes with CMG for local and national advertiser dollars across major US markets. Both are pure-play broadcast station operators with adjacent digital ad products, similar revenue mix, and parallel FCC-ownership constraints.
- E.W. Scripps Company: E.W. Scripps is a directly comparable US local broadcasting company that owns and operates TV stations and national networks across similar markets. Both Cox Media Group and Scripps operate as multi-station local broadcast groups targeting national and local advertisers, and the two were jointly represented at the same FCC cybersecurity workshop.
- iHeartMedia: iHeartMedia is the largest US radio broadcasting company and operates station clusters in many of the same markets as CMG's radio assets. Both monetize broadcast radio audiences through advertising and have built adjacent digital audio/advertising platforms to offset linear audio ad declines.
Broad incumbents
- Sinclair Broadcast Group: Sinclair is one of the largest US local TV broadcast groups, operating stations in many of the same markets where CMG holds licenses. Both companies compete on local and national ad sales, news production scale, and digital advertising extensions tied to broadcast audiences.
- Nexstar Media Group: Nexstar is the largest US television station operator and serves the same advertiser base seeking local-market broadcast reach across all 210 DMAs. While larger and publicly traded, Nexstar competes directly with CMG for the same pool of local-TV advertising budgets, network affiliations, and retransmission fee economics.
Others
- Comcast Advertising (Spotter/FreeWheel): While not a station operator, Comcast Advertising is an adjacent infrastructure/technology player that competes with CMG Local Solutions on the digital ad services side — providing local-market programmatic and cross-platform measurement that competes for the same SMB and mid-market ad dollars CMG targets.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Cox Media Group social profiles
Digital presenceCox Media Group financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Cox Media Group leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles10 records
Cox Media Group funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Cox Media Group M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments9 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Cox Media Group
What does Cox Media Group do?
Cox Media Group (CMG) operates a portfolio of local, national, and digital media brands spanning owned-and-operated television stations (WSB-TV, WFTV, WPXI-TV, WHIO-TV, WSOC-TV, KIRO-TV) and radio stations (WSB Radio, K923 Orlando, HOT 105). The company sells television and radio advertising placements and offers customized digital advertising, marketing services, data, and analytics to local businesses through its CMG Local Solutions unit.
Is Cox Media Group a public or private company?
Cox Media Group is a private company. It is classified as unknown and is currently operating.
When was Cox Media Group founded?
Cox Media Group was founded in 2008. It employs 5,001 to 10,000 people.
Where is Cox Media Group based?
Cox Media Group is headquartered in Atlanta, United States, in the North America region.
How does Cox Media Group make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Television Advertising is the primary driver. The others are radio Advertising and digital Advertising and Local Solutions.
Who are Cox Media Group's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Cumulus Media, Gray Television, Townsquare Media, Hearst Television, Tegna Inc., E.W. Scripps Company and iHeartMedia. Broad incumbents are Sinclair Broadcast Group and Nexstar Media Group. Comcast Advertising (Spotter/FreeWheel) is listed as an others.
Does Cox Media Group have an API?
No public API is recorded for Cox Media Group.
What industry is Cox Media Group in?
Cox Media Group's product category is Broadcast Media Advertising. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPABACAA, Local TV Station Groups (Owned & Operated/Station Chains), with a secondary code of MPABACAC, Local Radio Station Groups (Owned & Operated/Station Chains). Its NAICS code is 516120 and its SIC code is 4833.