Magnum Media wants permission to go beyond local radio ownership limits in La Crosse, WI, and it is pinning much of its case for a waiver on the future of one of the market’s most successful stations. The broadcaster says allowing the acquisition of country “Cow 97.1” WCOW would “financially fortify” the 75-year-old FM, a highly-rated and heavily honored station that Magnum says could otherwise face an uncertain future.

Magnum this week filed paperwork to pay $1.375 million for WCOW — along with and the “ESPN La Crosse” simulcast of WFBZ/WKLJ (105.5/1290) — in a deal that will take Sparta-Tomah Broadcasting out of radio ownership. However, David Magnum’s company already owns five stations in market No. 210, meaning it cannot complete the acquisition under the current ownership rules without a waiver.

The La Crosse market has 27 full-power radio stations. Under current FCC rules, one company may own up to six commercial stations in a market of that size, with no more than four in either the AM or FM service. Magnum currently owns four FMs and one AM. The acquisition would increase that to six FMs and two AMs, putting it two stations above the FM subcap.

Magnum argues there is good cause to make an exception, saying the deal would preserve local radio service while giving a longtime local operator greater economy of scale in an increasingly difficult business. At the center of that argument is WCOW.

“Due to the modern-day competitive realities, there is no longer enough advertising revenue available for Sparta-Tomah to operate on a profitable basis,” Magnum says in a waiver request.

Yet WCOW itself is hardly a struggling station by traditional measures. Magnum describes it as highly rated and points to a long list of accolades. But that contrast is central to Magnum’s pitch. The broadcast group says even a successful local station can face an uncertain financial future when the company operating it lacks sufficient scale. Magnum argues combining WCOW and the other Sparta-Tomah stations with its existing operation would create economies of scale that could reinforce WCOW and preserve its future.

The waiver would make Magnum the largest radio revenue player in La Crosse. BIA data put Mid-West Family’s 2024 market revenue share at 41%, Magnum at 31%, Sparta-Tomah at 21%, Robinson Corp. at 7%, and Civic Media at less than 1%. Combining Magnum and Sparta-Tomah would give Magnum control of roughly 51% of the market’s revenue.

Yet Magnum argues that doesn’t amount to creating a dominant player. The company says Mid-West Family currently leads Magnum by about 10% and after the transaction, Magnum would lead Mid-West Family by about the same margin, effectively reversing the positions of the market’s two biggest radio operators.

Measured by audience, Magnum and Mid-West Family currently each account for about 32% of La Crosse listening, while Sparta-Tomah has about 20%, according to Nielsen figures. The deal would give Magnum approximately 52%. But using the broader Nielsen Total Survey Area, Magnum says its combined share would be 40%, leaving the remaining operators with 60%.

And it offers a stark assessment of why that scale matters.

“The proposed transaction is not about Magnum making empty promises about expanding programming or creating new format options,” the company tells the FCC. “It is about achieving added scale and striving to keep terrestrial radio stations on the air serving the public in an industry where the surrendering of licenses has become increasingly common.”

Magnum says its own local history strengthens the public-interest case. Dave Magnum and his late wife, Lynn, launched their first station serving the Tomah and Sparta communities in 1991. The company says it has spent more than three decades providing local news, weather and sports and supporting community organizations. Sons Reid and Ty Magnum, along with Reid’s wife, Chelsey, are now taking the family-owned broadcaster into a second generation.

The waiver request lands as the FCC is reconsidering the local radio ownership rules. Magnum also widens the competitive lens beyond terrestrial radio. It says broadcasters increasingly compete for listeners, while local advertising dollars have migrated toward large digital platforms. Greater scale, it argues, would leave Magnum better positioned to remain viable against those competitors.