Cox is a major player on Long Island, which of course, is not only the #18 market but embedded in the #1 market. They own WBLI and WBAB, which both rank near the top of the Long Island book each quarter. Both stations show up near the bottom of the overall NYC book, and I wouldn't say they are really major players in NYC. 106.1 gets torn apart by WCAA 105.9 starting in mid-Nassau County, and while a sensitive car radio can get the station into Eastern Queens and sometimes further (I've gotten it in Midtown Manhattan during non-DX conditions), it is not reliable coverage...most radios will lose it. WBAB also has a relatively weak signal and while a car radio can get a signal throughout most of the city (when the frequency isn't taken over by pirate stations), it is by no means a player in NYC.Two other Cox stations, WFOX The Fox and the former WKHL, now The Coast, are also in NYC's backyard but their signals also don't come in to NYC nearly well enough to make a dent, especially 95.9 the Fox, as in parts of NYC you can get 95.9 The Rat from NJ, also with a weak signal. 96.7 fares a bit better and probably did have a few listeners in Queens and the Bronx in recent months when they still had oldies, after CBS-FM dropped theirs, but now it's The Coast, and doesn't really offer anything much different than Lite FM, PLJ or Jack for NYC listeners, IMO.I'm surprised Cox hasn't made a move into NYC proper. Maybe with the rumors that CBS Radio will sell off some stations, Cox could try to land one or two of them?
