COX ENTERPRISES EXPLORES OPTIONS FOR COX MEDIA GROUP’S TV STATIONS

Analysis shows benefits of being part of larger entity, exec explains.

Cox Enterprises announced Tuesday that the company will pursue strategic options for its ownership or other interests in Cox Media Group’s 14 TV stations, including WHIO-TV, Channel 7.

Options include merging or partnering with a larger ownership group.

“We did not take this decision lightly,” said Alex Taylor, president and chief executive of Cox Enterprises. “Broadcast television has been part of our DNA since my great-grandfather bought WSB-TV in 1948 and it became the ‘Eyes of the South.’ A big part of the Cox story is about media and how it fueled the growth and diversification of the rest of the company today.”

In light of the media industry’s “tremendous transformation” — including deregulation, new competitors, changing media habits and an evolving landscape of mergers and acquisitions — Kim Guthrie, president of Cox Media Group, said the company’s analysis shows that its stations will need to be part of a larger entity to thrive. “Deregulation, new competitors, changing media habits and a rapidly evolving landscape of mergers and acquisitions are prompting many media operators to consider new ways to compete,” Guthrie said. “Our analysis shows that scale is critical to be successful.”

Cox Enterprises said it has no immediate plans for other parts of its media portfolio, including the Dayton Daily News, Springfield News-Sun and Journal-News; its Dayton radio stations, WHKO, WHIO and WZLR; and their affiliated publications and websites. Cox will also continue to operate its other radio properties across the country and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, as well as its other businesses, Cox Reps, Gamut, Videa and Ideabar, the company said.

WHIO-TV is the No. 1 station in the Dayton market with more than 70 percent of the local news share, and the No. 1 CBS affiliate in the country.

Mergers and intended mergers have been on the rise in the media arena, with Sinclair Broadcast Group behind a $3.9 billion acquisition of Tribune Media, and Gray Television last month buying Raycom Media for $3.65 billion in cash and stock, creating what is said to be the third-largest owner of local TV stations in the U.S.

Al Tompkins, senior faculty, broadcast and online, at the Poynter Institute, said television companies in today’s media environment tend to get bigger.