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CBS to sell entire radio group

IF TRUE - This might not have a direct impact here in Denver but INDIRECTLY it could (And with the recent chaos where the dust STILL hasn't completely settled yet, this would only compound that)

Cheers & 73 :)
 
The problem the new entity will have is that it will be faced with a lot of the same issues other stand-alone radio entities have, which means to me that they can't continue to operate at the level of staffing and service they have now, unless some arrangement is made with the mother ship. That's what has been discovered by the radio-only companies that bought CBS Radio stations over the past few years. CBS Radio as a stand-alone will not be the same company it has been in terms of staffing and service.
 
Having said what I did in post #64 assumes the spun-off company remains radio-only. It's very possible that CBS Radio could broaden beyond OTA radio station ownership into other businesses. They could also expand their concert and event sponsorship business. I see today that they hired a person to do just that. Lots of options, although some of those options are also available now. Perhaps it makes sense to start those businesses now while they have access to the capital.
 
The synergies are something that will be handled in the separation contract. But the template people should look at is the CBS-Viacom split, and how that has worked. The goal there was also to "unlock shareholder value." So they split out broadcast from cable, because at the time cable was a growth medium. Not so much now. But the two companies didn't use their synergies. CBS Radio didn't promote the MTV Networks, or vice versa. When CBS Sports needed a cable channel, it didn't work with Viacom, but rather Turner, and then they launched their own cable channel. So while contracts might be able to keep some existing synergies happening for a while, anything can happen, and CBS Radio will likely operate the way Viacom and CBS did when they split.
 
Oscar Madison said:
We will see how long this lasts once radio and TV managers work for different companies, and once new people are sitting in the respective managers' chairs.
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Yes I understand how that went between Disney and Cumulus over the contracts with former ABC Radio Affiliates KABC-AM, WABC-AM, KGO-AM though. there was synergies for a time when ABC sold ABC Radio O&O's to Citadel now cumulus a decade ago. The deals were true for sometime until ABC canceled the contract with Cumulus in 2015 over their radio distribution contracts and Disney moved ABC Radio to Skyview networks and ABC Radio airs on Slacker radio apps.
 
There wasn't much "cooperation" between former CBS and Group W stations after that merger, and they were all under the same ownership.

The sad part is this is the last "off spring" TV network which still owned its "parent" radio network. Doesn't show a lot of interest in the future of radio.

The other major terrestrial networks are owned by or with movie studios: Fox, Disney, Universal. But Paramount and CBS were split into separate companies. So much for synergy.
 
RadioPatrol said:
The deals were true for sometime until ABC canceled the contract with Cumulus in 2015 over their radio distribution contracts
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Actually, the Cumulus contract with ABC Radio News simply ran out and was not renewed. However, former ABC radio stations have retained the use of their old call letters, and I believe that was part of the original agreement with ABC.
 
Oscar Madison said:
The sad part is this is the last "off spring" TV network which still owned its "parent" radio network. Doesn't show a lot of interest in the future of radio.
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CBS shut down the CBS Radio Network in 1994 as part of its deal with Westwood One. So CBS does not own a radio network. Just stations. Disney/ABC still owns a number of radio stations, either through Radio Disney or ESPN. NBC got out of the radio business in 1988. It still operates the NBC Sports Radio Network in collaboration with Westwood One. There is also a CNBC Radio Network. NBC also revived its NBC News Radio service for a few years, but it's since been shut down.

The network radio business for the most part ended in the 1950s. The one remaining part of the radio network business was national news. But entertainment programming became more diversified in the 1970s and 80s with the emergence of radio syndication companies. They handled the distribution without the overhead of a network. The old networks attempted to adapt to the new model in the 1980s. CBS started RadioRadio, NBC launched The Source. ABC outsourced some of its entertainment programming to Radio Express. So while the TV networks retained their companion radio operations for a while, the business itself had changed. The need for a "network" using the old AT&T long lines ended in the 1980s with satellite distribution. It changed again with the internet. Now virtually anyone can be in the radio network business and the centralized distribution system no longer exists.
 
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TheBigA said:
CBS shut down the CBS Radio Network in 1994 as part of its deal with Westwood One. So CBS does not own a radio network. Just stations. Disney/ABC still owns a number of radio stations, either through Radio Disney or ESPN. NBC got out of the radio business in 1988. It still operates the NBC Sports Radio Network in collaboration with Westwood One. There is also a CNBC Radio Network. NBC also revived its NBC News Radio service for a few years, but it's since been shut down.

The network radio business for the most part ended in the 1950s. The one remaining part of the radio network business was national news. But entertainment programming became more diversified in the 1970s and 80s with the emergence of radio syndication companies. They handled the distribution without the overhead of a network. The old networks attempted to adapt to the new model in the 1980s. CBS started RadioRadio, NBC launched The Source. ABC outsourced some of its entertainment programming to Radio Express. So while the TV networks retained their companion radio operations for a while, the business itself had changed. The need for a "network" using the old AT&T long lines ended in the 1980s with satellite distribution. It changed again with the internet. Now virtually anyone can be in the radio network business and the centralized distribution system no longer exists.
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CBS ran long form programing(Art Linkletter, Lowell Thomas, Arlene Francis etc.)at least past 1970. Portland affiliate KOIN did just fine with it up to that point, when the audience got too old. They still had their own orchestra until 1972!
 
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