Cox Urges FCC to Ease Local Radio Ownership Rules

RADIO ONLINE | Monday, August 17, 2026 | 3:26pm CT

Cox Media Group

Cox Media Group is urging the FCC to eliminate or significantly reform its local radio ownership limits, arguing that the regulations no longer reflect the competitive environment facing broadcasters.

CMG Radio President Rob Babin, Senior Vice President and Associate General Counsel Alysia Long and Corporate Counsel Taylor Lamb met separately on August 11 with staff representing FCC Commissioners Olivia Trusty and Anna Gomez as part of the Commission's pending 2022 Quadrennial Review of its local radio ownership rules.

According to ex parte notices filed with the FCC, the CMG executives met with Trusty Senior Legal Advisor Marcus Maher and Gomez Chief of Staff and Legal Advisor Deena Shetler.

CMG argued that the existing radio ownership restrictions are remnants of a substantially different media marketplace and no longer reflect the competition local radio broadcasters face. The company pointed to streaming audio, podcasts, satellite radio, social media and major digital advertising platforms as competitors that operate without comparable structural ownership restrictions.

The broadcaster also told the FCC that what it described as an imbalance between legacy regulation and today's competitive marketplace is limiting local radio companies' ability to grow audiences and attract advertising.

CMG argued that those pressures can also affect broadcasters' ability to maintain local programming, emergency coverage and other community investments. It cited the movement of advertising dollars toward digital platforms with potentially unlimited reach as another reason for the Commission to reconsider the ownership rules.

CMG ultimately called on the FCC to either eliminate or substantially reform the local radio ownership restrictions, saying changes would allow broadcasters to compete on more even terms with digital and other audio platforms.

The meetings come as the FCC continues its 2022 Quadrennial Review, which includes consideration of the Commission's local radio ownership rules.