Since July 2012, Cox Media Group has operated two “Big Four” stations in Jacksonville. One of those properties, a CBS affiliate on the UHF dial, was owned by Bayshore Television until a 2018 transaction shifted the station to a wholly owned entity led by “retired” CMG President Bill Hoffman.
Now that the FCC’s “Top Four” rule has been shot down by the Eighth Circuit federal appeals court, CMG is free and clear to buy WJAX-TV and own it as a full-fledged sibling to WFOX-TV.
WJAX is owned by Hoffman Communications, which paid Bayshore $12.17 million to acquire one of two homes for “Action News Jax,” the other being CMG’s WFOX. On November 19, 2025, with legal counsel Liz Spainhour and Tim Nelson at Brooks Pierce acting of Hoffman’s behalf, filed an assignment of authorization application with the Commission seeking its approval of WJAX’s transfer from Hoffman to Cox Media Group.
Terms call for CMG’s assumption of any debt associated with the station from Hoffman, while CMG will also be paying him $174,877 for WJAX.
As 2025 came to a close, DirecTV filed a Petition to Deny the transfer of WJAX to CMG. Why? To little surprise, the DBS provider alleged the deal would result in “direct economic harm due to higher input prices” that it asserts it will have to pay as a result of the transaction.
In its response, CMG responded that the transaction complies with all Commission rules, including the post-Zimmer Radio Local Television Ownership Rule. It also blasted DirecTV for “speculative” harm in regard to its retransmission consent rate concerns.
With standing established for DirecTV, its argument was firmly shot down by Video Division Chief David J. Brown. “We find that the proposed transaction fully complies with the Commission’s rules, including the post-Zimmer Radio Local Television Ownership Rule, and that there are no issues or potential public interest harms identified in the record that would require further consideration,” Brown said.
The decision results in the granting of the transfer of control petition, with closing now imminent for Cox Media Group.
