Cox Media Group/Cox Enterprises

Posted on April 7, 2013 by Autumn Boatner

Autumn Boatner

http://www.coxmediagroup.com/

Headquarters Contact Info: 6205 Peachtree Dunwoody Rd.
Atlanta, GA 30328
(678) 645-0000

Overview [1]

Cox Media Group is an integrated broadcasting, publication, direct marketing, and digital media company which is a part of Cox Enterprises that includes Cox Target Media. Cox Target Media operates two leading American companies which are Valpak (direct marketing), and savings.com (online savings). The company’s operations currently include 19 broadcast TV stations, one local cable station, 87 radio stations, eight daily newspapers and more than 100 digital services. CMG’s reach includes more than 30 media markets and 52 million Americans weekly, which includes 18 million radio listeners, 32 million TV viewers, and more than four million print and online newspaper readers.

2012 Key Metrics [2]

Revenue: 1.9 Billion
TV Stations: 19
Local Cable Channels: 1
Television Markets: 11
TV Viewer Reach: 30+ million
AM Radio Stations: 15
FM Radio Stations: 72
Radio Markets: 20
Combined Weekly Radio Listeners: 18 million

The Business of Communications

A duopoly is a specific type of oligopoly where only two producers exist in one market. In context, Cox Media Group is a duopoly due to the fact that it is one of two firms with dominant control over the communications market. Cox Media Group is in the process of changing its structure as part of a new business strategy to sell off their stations in smaller markets. The broadcast realignment was announced in July 2012 by CMG President Doug Franklin following the purchase of duopolies in larger markets — Jacksonville, Fla., and Tulsa, Okla. — from Newport Television . [3] CMG’s strategy is focused on larger markets, cross-media collaboration, and heightened reach in fewer markets. “This simplified structure will enable CMG to capitalize on continued growth and synergies, while retaining its size financially,” said Franklin.

Simultaneously, CMG is realigning leadership structure to fit the new broadcast portfolio. Leadership changes in 2013 are as followed:

January 11th – Romeo Solomon Named General Sales Manager at KICU-TV
January 14th – Cox Media Group Appoints Matt Dalton as National Sales Manager of Long Island’s 106.1 WBLI-FM and 102.3 WBAB-FM
January 30th – CMG Orlando Tammie McGrath promoted to Director of Sales for six stations [4]
February 7th – CMG Tulsa Radio Promotes Matt Ledbetter to Director of Sales for Its Five Station Cluster [5]
March 1st – Tom Calococci Joins CMG Miami as New Program Director East Coast
March 8th – Cox Media Group Atlanta Names Adam Wolfson New General Sales Manager
March 11th – Greg Bilte named general manager, Suzanne Nadell named News Director for CMG Tulsa
March 13th – CMG Jacksonville Named Eric Lauer GSM, CMG San Antonio Names Jeff Garrison as New Program Director of Y100 [6]
April 1st – Lee Rothenthal named News Director at KUTV in Indianapolis [7]

Consolidation

On February 12th, Cox Media Group announced the sale of radio stations in six markets to SummitMedia – a Birmingham, Ala.-based ownership group which includes David DuBose, Cox Media’s Birmingham Vice President and market manager.

Source: http://www.freepress.net/

Cox Media Group also sold three Southern Connecticut radio stations and contract rights for an additional station to Connoisseur Media based in Conn. Four stations were sold to Connoisseur and 21 stations were sold to Summit. In southern Connecticut, Cox sold WPLR-FM, WEZN-FM, WFOX-FM, and contract rights for WYBC-FM to Connoisseur Media for $40 million. SummitMedia paid $66.25 million for a number of stations in Birmingham, AL, Greenville, SC, Louisville, KY, Richmond, VA, and Hawaii, according to documents filed with the FCC. [8] As part of the broadcast realignment, Cox recently added four TV stations to its broadcast portfolio: WAWS-TV (fox) and WTEV-TV (CBS) in Jacksonville, Fl, and KOKI-TV (fox) and KMYT-TV (MyNetwork) in Tulsa, OK. [9]

Source: www.sbgi.net/

Sinclair Broadcast Group had the opposite strategy, and acquired four COX small television stations for $99 million on February 25^th, 2013; the purchase was part of a string of over thirty acquisitions over the past year and a half. [10] They also purchased 18 stations from Barrington Broadcasting Group for 370 million. [11] Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. is a Hunt Valley, Maryland-based diversified television broadcast company. The four stations Sinclair purchased from Cox were:

KFOX (Fox) El Paso, Texas DMA 91

WJAC (NBC) Johnstown-Altoona, Pa. DMA 102

KRXI (Fox) Reno, Nev. DMA 108

WTOV (NBC) Wheeling, W.Va.-Steubenville, Ohio DMA 158

FCC rules prohibit ownership of two stations in markets as small as Reno, Nev., therefore Sinclair plans on getting past this loophole by operating MNT affiliate KAME Reno under contract with a third-party licensee, Deerfield Media. [12] Sinclair said it expects to finance the deal through a bank loan, the deal will close in the second quarter and is pending FCC approval. Sinclair is arguably taking this strategy because there are less medium-sized stations for sale, but small stations provide large profits through local advertisements. [13] “Over the past 18 months, we have led the industry’s consolidation efforts in the mid-sized markets, purchasing 30 TV stations and creating over $400 million of equity value,” said David Smith, Sinclair President and CEO.

On March 4th, 2013, Broadcast stock analyst Marci Ryvicker and Wells Fargo Securities approved the Sinclair buy. “We like SBGI’s scale, leverage and opportunistic approach to M&A and anticipate there is more to come,” stated in an investor’s note. According to the note, Sinclair is paying a reasonable 4.6 times cash flow for Cox and 5.2 times for Barrington while maintaining a healthy debt profile of 5.1 times projected for the end of 2013. [14]

Other news concerning COX

Source: RadioInk.com

On January 18th, Cox Media Group made radio history with Tampa 97X by giving local listeners total control of the music by utilizing social media. Listeners chose songs they wanted to hear by selecting from over 1,800 songs listed on 97X app and website. The app gave listeners the ability to interact with an ‘Open Mic’ feature which enabled them to record and upload themselves introducing songs. [15]

On March 6th, Cox Media Group was accepted into the Google AdWords (TM) Premier SMB partner program. This partnership allows CMG to be a leading provider in digital marketing solutions for local and regional advertising clients. Premiere SMB partners meet Google’s highest criteria for qualification, transparency and customer service, which include completing extensive Google product and account management training to provide businesses with the most effective AdWords advertising solutions. In addition to in-depth AdWords knowledge, PSP partners provide campaign management, detailed reporting, one-on-one customer support, and broad marketing guidance to help advertisers make the most of their advertising campaigns. [16]

Sources

1 & 2. http://www.coxmediagroup.com/about/
3. http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2013-02-26/business/bs-bz-sinclair-acquires-cox-stations-20130226_1_sinclair-plans-station-owner-stations-in-mid-sized-market
4. http://www.coxmediagroup.com/news/2013/jan/
5. http://www.coxmediagroup.com/news/2013/feb/
6. http://www.coxmediagroup.com/news/2013/apr/
7. http://www.coxmediagroup.com/news/2013/may/
8 & 9. http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/193537/cox-sells-25-radio-stations.html#axzz2PoUSjKxl
10. http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2013-02-26/business/bs-bz-sinclair-acquires-cox-stations-20130226_1_sinclair-plans-station-owner-stations-in-mid-sized-markets
11. http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/print-edition/2013/03/08/sinclair-broadcast-group-tuning-into.html?page=all
12.http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/65729/sinclair-buys-four-cox-tvs-for-nearly-100m
13. http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/print-edition/2013/03/08/sinclair-broadcast-group-tuning-into.html?page=all
14. http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/65893/ryvicker-gives-thumbs-up-to-sinclair-buys
15. http://www.coxmediagroup.com/news/cmg-press-releases/tampa-bays-97x-does-it-again/nTzz2/
16. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/cox-media-group-selected-as-google-adwords-premier-smb-partner-2013-03-06

Cox Media Group

Posted on September 18, 2012 by gllevin

by Geri Levin

[14]

Cox Media Group (CMG) is a media company that specializes in uniting broadcasting, publishing, direct marketing, and digital media. CMG is one of the five companies that make up a national top ten company, Cox Enterprises. CMG owns and operates one of North America’s leading direct marketing companies, Valpak, and additionally is responsible for the national advertising rep firms of Cox Reps. [1]

History:

James M. Cox founded Cox Enterprises in 1898 with the purchase of the Dayton Evening News (now called the Dayton Daily News). [2]

Portrait of James M. Cox. Image courtesy of authentichistory [15]

After Cox took control of The Atlanta Journal newspaper and WSD in 1939, he then established South’s first television station in Atlanta, WSB-TV, in 1948. [2]

As the years passed, Cox Enterprises became one of the first company in the cable television industry. [2]

The enterprise expanded by assembling four different branches. The four companies that make up Cox enterprises is Cox Communications, Manheim, Cox Media Group and Cox Digital Solutions. [2]

About:

Cox Media Group controls 15 broadcast television stations including one local cable channel. They also own 86 radio stations, 8 daily newspapers, more than a dozen other publications that are not daily and more than 100 digital services. Operating in more than 30 media markets the company reaches up to 52 million Americans. [1]

Reaching 29 cities in 17 States across the United States of America [3], Cox Media Group delivers numerous media outlets to different markets insuring that people get the latest and updated information. The companies that are affiliated with CMG include ABC, Fox, Independent, MyNetworkTV, CBS and NBC. [4]

Leadership:

Doug Franklin, President. Image courtesy of Cox Media Group [16]

Bill Hoffman, Executive VP. Image courtesy of Cox Media Group [17]

Neil Johnston, Executive Vice President, Strategy & Digital Innovation. Image courtesy of Cox Media Group [18]

Broadcast Television:

One of the major branches that brings in a lot Cox Media Group’s annual revenue is the television stations that the company owns and operates. With up to 15 stations as well as one local cable channel, CMG broadcasts in 11 markets. The companies that are affiliated with CMG include ABC, Fox,, MyNetworkTV, CBS, NBC and some are independently owned. [4]

Each market has either one or two stations in that area:

The Oakland, San Franciso and San Jose market has the station KTVU which is affiliated with Fox and KICU-TV, an Independent station. [6]
The stations that are located in Jacksonville, Florida are WAWS, affiliated with Fox and WTEV-TV, (the most watched television station [5]) a CBS company. [6]
Broadcasting in Orlando and Daytona Beach, Florida, are both an ABC affiliated station, WFTV and an independently owned station, WRDQ. [6]
In Atlanta, there is only one major broadcasting station is WSB-TV, associated with ABC. [6]
Reno, Nevada’s stations are KRXI-TV, which is a fox station, and KAME-TV, a MyNetworkTV station. [6]
In Charlotte, NC the stations include WSOC-TV, affiliated with ABC, and the station WAXN-TV, which is an independent station. [6]
Dayton, Ohio’s main station is a CBS station, WHIO-TV [6]
Both Stuebenville, OH and Wheeling, W.V. have the same broadcast station which is WTOV-TV. Operated by NBC. [6]
The broadcasting stations in Tulsa, OK are KOKI-TV and KMYT-TV. KOKI-TV is associated with Fox and KMYT-TV is associated with MyNetworkTV. [6]
The one major station in Johnstown and Altoona, PA is WJAC-TV, which is affiliated with NBC. [6]
WPXI is the station that broadcasts to Pittsburgh, PA. This station is operated by NBC. [6]
The station in El Paso, TX is KFOX-TV, operated by Fox [6]
Lastly, the station KIRO-TV in Seattle and Tacoma, WA is operated by CBS. [6]

Current Cox- Owned Television stations. Image courtesy of Cox Media Group – Wikipedia. [19]

Financials:

The broadcast stations that Cox Media Group owns in each market brings a significant amount of revenue for the company. In 2010 the gross revenue that the stations brought in all together was 535.9 million dollars. [4]

The broadcast station that brought the highest amount of gross annual revenue in 2010 was the station in Atlanta, GA with 137.6 million, WSB. The least amount of revenue generated was WJAC in Johnstowns and Altoona, PA with 9.9 million. [4]

Unfortunately, in 2011 the gross revenue dropped to a lower rate of was 482.1 million. That means that the company went down 53.8 million dollars in just a year. [4] Although the broadcast television stations lost revenue in 2011, they still stayed on top as the branch in CMG that produced the most amount of revenue that year. [4]

When it comes to the specific stations that Cox Media Group owns, the station that made the most money in 2011 was WSB in Atlanta, Georgia with 131.5 million dollars. The lowest amount of money that a station made was 8.9 million, again at the WJAC station. [4]

Cox media Group comes out with their annual revenue at the end of each year and due to this, they have not settled upon a yearly revenue for 2012 as of right now. One can assume that due to the election all throughout the fall of 2012, CMG’S annual gross revenue assumably shot up from 2011’s annual revenue.

News:

CMG Purchasing Two Major Television Stations

In July of 2012, CMG was offered to purchase two of Providence Equity Partners, the parent company of Newport Television, television stations. The stations that they offered were WAWS-WTEV in Jacksonville, Florida and KOKI-KMYT Tulsa, Oklahoma. [7]

Logo for WAWS-WTEV in Jacksonville, FL. Image courtesy of Fox 30 WAWS website [20]

Logo for KOKI- KMYT in Tulsa, OK. Image courtesy of Fox 23 KOKI website [21]

The Federal Communications Commission was forcing Newport to sell on of the two Jacksonville stations. This was because it was stated as a condition to the agency’s approval of Providence Equity’s buy of the twenty stations in 2008. [12]

But this ended up being a beneifical prospect for CMG. Buying WAWS-TV would be a major deal for CMG due to the fact that this Jacksonville station is a top rated Fox affiliates in the United States. [8]

On December 3rd, 2012, Newport announced that the deal had been closed and that CMG officially owned these two stations. [9]

According to Cox Media Group, the reason for why they decided to purchase these two T.V. stations was to focus on larger markets to ensure more of a cross media collaboration as well as improve the impact in lesser markets. [10]

To make this work to the best of its ability, CMG decided to sell radio locations in Birmingham, Greenville, Hawaii, Louisville, Richmond, and southern Connecticut, as well as T.V. stations in four markets: El Paso, Johnstown, Reno and Steubenville. What this will do is help the company collaborate with other businesses while keeping its financial numbers the same. [10]

According to Holly Allen, Vice President and General Manager of KOKI-TV and KMYT-TV, she said, “Our team in Tulsa is thrilled to be joining a company that not only has deep historic roots in the news business, but also is continually looking toward the future and making valuable contributions in communities around the nation.” [11]

With the purchase of these new radio station, CMG is able to switch up their traditional business plans. Most of the stations that they operate are broadcast stations in smaller markets but the purchase of these two new stations from Newport Television, LLC will change this. They will be focused on the idea of changing up their portfolio and focusing on the larger markets that they now own.

Awards:

There have been CMG properties that have received the Regional Edward R. Murrow Awards. This honor is rewarded to those who illustrate the spirit and excellent enthusiasm that broadcaster Edward R. Murrow demonstrated for the the broadcast profession. The winners include: [13]