Explore Cox Media Group (CMG), its history, ownership, television and radio operations, digital advertising business, consumer data practices, privacy policy, Active Listening controversy, leadership and 2026 developments.
Cox Media Group, commonly known as CMG, is a major American media company operating television, radio, streaming, digital media and advertising businesses across multiple U.S. markets.
The company describes itself as an integrated media organization reaching more than 60 million Americans each week through 17 television brands in nine markets, 45 radio stations in nine markets, streaming and digital platforms, and local, regional and national advertising businesses.
CMG combines traditional broadcast media with digital advertising, audience analytics and marketing services. Through CMG Local Solutions, the company markets advertising products that use data, analytics and multiple media channels to help businesses identify and reach prospective customers.
The company’s modern business therefore extends considerably beyond television and radio. CMG operates at the intersection of local journalism, entertainment, broadcasting, digital media, advertising technology, audience data and marketing services.
Its history also goes back much further than the current corporate structure. The Cox family media business traces its roots to 1898, when James M. Cox purchased the Dayton Evening News, later renamed the Dayton Daily News.
Today, CMG operates under a corporate structure that emerged from a major transaction involving Apollo Global Management and Cox Enterprises in 2019.
Cox Media Group is an American integrated media company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.
CMG’s current portfolio includes:
The company says its television portfolio consists of 17 TV brands across nine markets, while its radio portfolio consists of 45 stations across nine markets.
CMG also operates advertising businesses designed to connect advertisers with audiences through television, radio, digital media and data-driven marketing.
This makes CMG more than a traditional broadcaster. Its business model increasingly combines the reach of conventional media with the targeting capabilities associated with modern digital advertising.
The roots of CMG can be traced to James M. Cox, who purchased the Dayton Evening News in 1898.
The newspaper was renamed the Dayton Daily News, establishing the foundation of what eventually became Cox Enterprises.
The Cox organization expanded from newspapers into radio and television.
In Atlanta, the Cox family acquired The Atlanta Journal in 1939 along with radio station WSB.
In September 1948, WSB-TV began broadcasting in Atlanta. Cox Enterprises describes that broadcast as the first television broadcast in the South and one of the earliest television broadcasts in the United States.
Over subsequent decades, Cox expanded into cable communications, automotive services, radio, television and other businesses.
The media operation eventually became known as Cox Media Group.
One of the most important events in CMG’s modern corporate history occurred in 2019.
Cox Enterprises reached an agreement with funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management to acquire a majority interest in Cox Media Group’s television stations and certain other media properties.
The transaction ultimately expanded to include Cox’s radio portfolio and national advertising businesses.
The deal closed in December 2019.
Cox Enterprises retained a minority interest while Apollo-affiliated funds became the majority owners of the new Cox Media Group.
The resulting company continued operating under the Cox Media Group name and remained headquartered in Atlanta.
The transaction fundamentally changed CMG’s corporate structure while preserving the Cox Media Group identity and many of the organization’s longstanding media brands.
Cox Media Group is majority owned by investment funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management, with Cox Enterprises retaining a minority interest.
This ownership structure is important because CMG is simultaneously connected to the historic Cox family media business and to a large private-equity investment platform.
The 2019 transaction brought together Cox’s television and radio assets with other media and advertising operations, creating the current CMG structure.
Cox Enterprises itself remains a family-owned enterprise with roots dating to James M. Cox’s purchase of the Dayton newspaper in 1898.
Television remains one of CMG’s most important operations.
The company currently identifies 17 television brands in nine markets.
Its television properties provide local news, weather, traffic, investigative journalism, sports, entertainment and other programming.
Among the prominent CMG television brands are:
The company’s television operations combine traditional broadcast distribution with digital websites, mobile products, streaming and social media.
That allows CMG to monetize audiences across several platforms rather than relying exclusively on conventional television advertising.
Radio is another major component of the company.
CMG currently lists 45 radio stations across nine markets.
Its radio portfolio reaches audiences through traditional terrestrial broadcasting as well as streaming, podcasts, social platforms and other digital channels.
CMG’s radio operations cover news, talk, sports, music and entertainment formats.
The company’s recent strategy also demonstrates an increasing emphasis on audience growth across multiple platforms rather than radio broadcasting alone.
In July 2026, CMG announced that Phil Becker would become Vice President of Audience & Content Growth for CMG Radio. The newly created role focuses on audience growth across broadcast, streaming, podcasting, social media and emerging platforms.
That appointment reflects the broader transformation of radio from a traditional broadcast-only business into a multi-platform audio operation.
CMG’s media strategy extends beyond television broadcasts and terrestrial radio.
Its brands distribute content through:
The company increasingly treats broadcast, digital and streaming as interconnected parts of the same media ecosystem.
This matters commercially because audiences no longer consume local news or entertainment through only one device.
A television viewer may watch a broadcast report, read the same story on a station website, receive a mobile notification, watch a video clip on social media and later listen to a related podcast.
CMG’s multi-platform structure allows the company to reach that same audience across those different environments.
One of the most commercially important parts of CMG is CMG Local Solutions.
The business provides advertising and marketing services for companies that want to reach consumers through television, radio and digital platforms.
CMG describes Local Solutions as providing customized marketing solutions supported by data and analytics.
Its offerings can include:
This makes CMG Local Solutions substantially different from a conventional local television or radio sales department.
The company is effectively selling an integrated marketing ecosystem.
CMG’s advertising business places considerable emphasis on data.
The company’s own website describes its advertising services in terms of consumer reporting, analytics and audience engagement.
Its digital-sales operations also describe the use of targeted display, digital video, digital audio, programmatic buying, analytics, attribution and other digital marketing technologies.
The significance is straightforward: CMG is not merely selling advertisers access to television or radio audiences.
It is also selling ways to identify, target, measure and optimize advertising audiences.
This is a central feature of the modern media business.
Audience targeting allows advertisers to attempt to reach particular groups of consumers rather than presenting the same advertisement to everyone.
Depending on the product and data source, targeting can involve information such as:
CMG’s privacy policy describes the collection and use of several categories of personal information and explains that information can be used for advertising and interest-based content.
The company’s privacy policy also describes relationships with third-party advertising and technology providers.
CMG’s privacy policy states that information collected through covered CMG websites, applications and services can include several categories of personal information.
These include:
The policy states that information can be obtained directly from users, automatically through technologies such as cookies, and from third parties including advertisers, sponsors, social networks and other business partners.
The privacy policy also addresses third-party data collection.
CMG states that it may work with third-party service providers and advertising networks that use information collected across websites, devices and mobile applications to provide interest-based advertising.
The policy notes that third parties may use their own data technologies to collect information about users on CMG websites and on third-party websites and applications.
According to the policy, these third parties may associate collected information with personal information or use information concerning online activity over time and across different services to provide targeted advertising.
This is an important part of understanding CMG’s digital advertising model.
The company is operating within a broader advertising ecosystem in which publishers, advertisers, ad networks, technology providers and data companies can interact with consumer information.
CMG maintains a formal privacy policy governing information collected through the CMG Network Sites covered by that policy.
The policy was last updated on February 26, 2024, according to the company’s website.
The policy explains how CMG collects, uses and shares information and provides information about user choices.
It also discusses:
The policy also states that CMG does not respond to browser-based “Do Not Track” signals.
CMG’s privacy policy specifically addresses online behavioral or interest-based advertising.
Under the policy, CMG may work with third-party providers that use information gathered from interactions across websites, devices and mobile applications to generate advertising-related predictions.
This type of advertising attempts to make advertisements more relevant to a user’s interests or behavior.
For example, a user who repeatedly interacts with particular categories of online content may be placed into an advertising audience associated with those interests.
CMG’s policy explains that third parties can use data technologies for advertising customization, auditing, research and reporting.
One of the most important privacy-related issues associated with CMG emerged publicly in 2024.
Reports circulated concerning an alleged “Active Listening” advertising product.
The reporting generated significant attention because the phrase suggested that companies could use audio captured from devices to inform advertising.
CMG responded publicly on September 27, 2024.
The company’s position was that its businesses had never listened to conversations and did not have access to anything beyond third-party aggregated, anonymized and encrypted datasets that could be used for advertising.
CMG further stated that the materials referenced in the reporting concerned an outdated product that CMG Local Solutions no longer sold.
The company said that the product had been discontinued, in part to avoid misunderstanding or misperception.
CMG’s response is important because it directly disputes the implication that the company itself was secretly listening to consumers’ conversations.
According to CMG, the advertising industry can receive datasets from digital publishers and applications, with data potentially collected under the terms and conditions presented to users by those services.
CMG said that voice-related and other data could be collected by platforms and devices, converted into anonymized information and subsequently made available to advertising companies.
CMG’s stated position was therefore that the relevant data ecosystem did not involve CMG itself secretly accessing or listening to private conversations.
This distinction should be maintained when discussing the controversy.
The existence of reporting about an “Active Listening” product does not establish that CMG secretly listened to people’s conversations.
Likewise, CMG’s response should be presented as the company’s own explanation rather than as an independent determination by a regulator or court.
The controversy nevertheless illustrates a broader issue facing the modern advertising industry.
Advertising technology increasingly depends on data generated by:
Consumers may not always understand which company originally collected a piece of information, which company processed it, which company packaged it, or which company ultimately used it for advertising.
That complexity makes transparency particularly important.
CMG’s own response acknowledged the existence of a broader third-party advertising data ecosystem while denying that CMG businesses had listened to conversations.
CMG’s privacy materials provide users with mechanisms for making certain choices concerning targeted advertising.
The company’s privacy policy points users toward industry opt-out mechanisms for interest-based advertising.
CMG’s website also provides a “Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information” option through its privacy interface.
California residents receive additional privacy disclosures and rights under applicable California law.
The availability and scope of privacy rights can depend on the user’s location, the specific CMG service involved and applicable law.
CMG’s current business strategy shows a clear movement toward integrated advertising.
Instead of treating television, radio and digital advertising as completely separate products, CMG increasingly packages them together.
An advertiser can potentially combine:
Television + Radio + Digital + Streaming + Audience Data + Analytics
This creates a broader marketing proposition.
For a local business, the appeal is the ability to purchase multiple channels through one media organization.
For CMG, the strategy creates additional opportunities to monetize its audience beyond traditional broadcast advertising.
CMG’s digital advertising operation includes a broad collection of services.
Its publicly described capabilities include:
These services position CMG alongside digital marketing agencies and advertising technology companies rather than limiting it to traditional broadcasting.
Local businesses are a major target for CMG’s advertising operation.
A business can potentially use CMG to promote itself through local television, radio and digital campaigns.
This can be especially useful for businesses whose customers are concentrated geographically.
Examples can include:
CMG’s sales infrastructure combines local market knowledge with centralized digital marketing capabilities.
Analytics are another major component of the company’s advertising model.
CMG’s digital-sales materials describe campaign performance measurement and data-driven insights as important parts of its service.
Analytics can help advertisers evaluate:
The move toward measurable advertising is one of the major changes separating modern media companies from traditional broadcasters.
Advertising is only one side of CMG’s business.
The company also operates major local journalism organizations.
Its television and radio stations produce:
CMG emphasizes local journalism as a central part of its identity.
In June 2026, CMG announced that four of its news operations had received Regional Edward R. Murrow Awards, including WSB-TV, WHIO Radio, WOKV-FM and KIRO 7.
The recognition covered categories involving breaking news and newscasts.
CMG also promotes community-focused initiatives through its television and radio properties.
The company describes CMG Gets Real as an initiative intended to create community-based conversations around important stories and amplify people’s voices.
CMG stations also conduct fundraising campaigns and other community initiatives.
For example, CMG reported that its WSB Care-a-Thon raised more than $2.3 million for the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center in July 2026.
These initiatives form part of the company’s broader effort to maintain a local identity in an increasingly digital media environment.
As of 2026, CMG identifies Daniel York as President and Chief Executive Officer.
York is responsible for managing CMG’s media platforms and overseeing the company’s long-term strategic priorities.
CMG says York has approximately 30 years of experience in media, content, distribution and operations.
Before joining CMG, he held senior leadership positions at AT&T and DIRECTV, including Chief Content Officer and Senior Executive Vice President.
Other members of CMG’s current leadership team include:
CMG has continued expanding its digital and audience-focused operations during 2026.
In May 2026, the company announced the appointment of Lauren Smith as Senior Director of Digital Sales.
The position is designed to strengthen digital revenue growth, train local sales teams and improve implementation of CMG’s digital advertising strategy across television and radio markets.
In July 2026, CMG announced the appointment of Phil Becker as Vice President of Audience & Content Growth for CMG Radio.
The position focuses on audience growth across broadcast, streaming, podcasting, social media and emerging platforms.
These appointments reinforce the company’s emphasis on digital revenue, audience development and multi-platform distribution.
CMG has also continued developing its sports content business.
In August 2026, the company announced two NBA broadcast partnerships involving the Orlando Magic and Charlotte Hornets.
The deals were described as part of CMG’s broader strategy to deliver valuable content across broadcast and other platforms while creating opportunities for audiences and advertisers.
Sports rights can be particularly valuable to local broadcasters because live sports continue to attract audiences in an environment where traditional television viewing is increasingly fragmented.
The traditional television business relied heavily on a simple model:
Create programming → attract viewers → sell commercial time.
The modern CMG model is more complicated.
It increasingly looks like:
Create content → build audiences → distribute across platforms → collect performance information → develop audience insights → sell targeted advertising → measure results.
Radio follows a similar evolution.
Instead of:
Broadcast → audience → advertising
the model increasingly becomes:
Broadcast + Streaming + Podcasts + Social + Digital → Audience Data → Advertising → Analytics
This transformation is central to understanding the modern Cox Media Group.
Calling CMG simply a television or radio company therefore understates the breadth of its operations.
CMG operates in at least four interconnected areas:
Television, radio, news, entertainment and local programming.
Websites, streaming, podcasts, mobile experiences and social platforms.
Television, radio, digital, streaming and local marketing campaigns.
Audience targeting, campaign measurement, consumer insights and advertising optimization.
These divisions reinforce one another.
The company’s media properties attract audiences.
Those audiences create advertising inventory.
Digital platforms generate additional engagement and measurement opportunities.
Data and analytics make advertising more targeted and measurable.
The advertising revenue supports the broader media operation.
CMG’s privacy practices demonstrate a broader challenge facing modern media companies.
A company can simultaneously function as:
Each role can involve different types of information.
A user may visit a news website to read an article, listen to a radio stream, watch a video, enter a contest or click an advertisement.
Those interactions can generate information that has value to advertisers.
The important question is therefore not simply whether a media company “collects data.”
The more relevant questions are:
CMG’s privacy policy provides information addressing many of these areas.
Consumers interacting with CMG’s digital properties should understand that the company’s privacy policy permits the collection of various categories of information and describes relationships with third-party advertising providers.
This does not mean that every CMG property necessarily collects every category of information from every user.
The company’s privacy policy itself explains that different websites, services and affiliates can have separate privacy statements.
Therefore, consumers should review the privacy notice associated with the specific CMG property or service they use.
Cox Media Group is an American integrated media company operating television, radio, streaming, digital media and advertising businesses.
CMG is majority owned by investment funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management, while Cox Enterprises retains a minority interest.
CMG is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.
CMG currently describes its portfolio as 17 television brands operating across nine markets.
CMG currently lists 45 radio stations across nine markets.
CMG Local Solutions is the company’s advertising and marketing business, providing television, radio and digital marketing solutions supported by data and analytics.
Yes. CMG’s privacy policy describes the collection of categories including contact information, online activity, location information, device information, commercial information and certain inferences.
CMG’s privacy policy states that it works with third-party service providers and advertising partners and describes the use of third-party data technologies for interest-based advertising.
CMG has publicly denied that its businesses listened to conversations. In its September 2024 response to reporting about an “Active Listening” product, the company stated that its businesses had never listened to conversations and said the referenced product had been discontinued.
The controversy concerned reports about an advertising product described as “Active Listening.” CMG responded that the product was based on outdated materials, had been discontinued and did not involve CMG listening to customers’ conversations.
As of 2026, Daniel York is CMG’s President and Chief Executive Officer.
Yes. Cox Enterprises retains a minority interest in CMG following the 2019 transaction that brought Apollo-affiliated funds into majority ownership.
CMG operates radio, streaming, digital media, local journalism, advertising, audience analytics and marketing services.
Cox Media Group has evolved from the traditional newspaper, radio and television business created by the Cox family into a much broader modern media and advertising organization.
Its current operations combine television, radio, digital media, streaming, journalism, advertising, audience targeting and analytics.
The company’s history stretches back to James M. Cox’s 1898 newspaper purchase, while its current corporate structure largely dates to the 2019 transaction that placed Apollo-affiliated funds in majority control alongside a continuing minority interest held by Cox Enterprises.
Today, CMG’s business model increasingly depends on connecting its large local audiences with advertisers through multiple channels.
That includes conventional television and radio advertising, but also digital video, streaming, digital audio, programmatic advertising, search, social media, lead generation, analytics and other marketing services.
Its privacy practices are therefore an important part of understanding the company. CMG’s published privacy policy describes extensive categories of information that can be collected through its covered digital properties and explains how third-party advertising technologies can be involved in interest-based advertising.
The 2024 “Active Listening” controversy further demonstrates why data practices surrounding modern advertising companies attract public attention. CMG expressly denied that its businesses listened to conversations and said the product at issue had been discontinued.
As CMG continues expanding digital advertising, streaming, podcasting, audience development and data-driven marketing, its identity increasingly sits between two industries: media and advertising technology.
That combination is likely to remain central to how Cox Media Group reaches audiences and generates revenue in the years ahead.
This article is based primarily on Cox Media Group’s official website, its corporate history and leadership materials, CMG’s privacy policy, CMG’s published statements concerning its discontinued Active Listening product, its advertising and careers materials, and corporate transaction information published by Cox Enterprises and Apollo Global Management.
Where the article discusses the Active Listening issue, ownership structure or privacy practices, the description distinguishes CMG’s own statements from independently established corporate history and does not treat the company’s statements as independent regulatory findings.
This article is provided for informational and educational purposes only. It is not legal, financial, investment or privacy advice. Information concerning ownership, advertising practices, privacy policies, products and company leadership can change over time. Readers should consult CMG’s current policies, corporate disclosures and applicable government or regulatory sources when making decisions based on this information.
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