Nevertheless, many stations stayed in Utah hands or were acquired by Utahns in the 1980s. George Hatch's Communication Investment Corporation and the LDS Church's Bonneville International Corporation continued as Utah corporate owners of KALL and KSL, respectively. David Williams, owner of General Telephone, a Utah paging company, purchased KFAM. The KCPX stations were purchased in 1983 by Salt Lake developer John Price. Simmons Family, Inc., under the direction of banker Roy Simmons, purchased several Utah stations, including Salt Lake's KDYL/KSFI and KDXU/KZEZ in St. George.

The 1990s began as a shake-out period for Utah broadcasting. The FCC changed its long-held regulations against the ownership of more than one radio station of a kind in the same market. Under the new ruling, the George Hatch stations, the John Price stations, and several others were acquired by outside corporate owners. When Hatch sold 80 percent ownership of KUTV television in 1993, it represented a significant erosion of the long-standing local ownership of Utah broadcasting stations.