F
Furman
Guest
Where will CBS Radio find $80 million in cost savings this year?
That’s the amount Leslie Moonves pledges to cut at both radio and TV, and squeezing out $80 million in costs from radio somehow sounds more drastic than the $80 million that’s coming out of Moonves’ beloved TV division. Moonves told his Q1 call that “we have taken the opportunity to re-structure our programming and talent costs across the board.” Unlike Clear Channel with its two massive waves of cuts on January 20 and April 28, CBS has ordered layoffs on an ongoing basis. Overall, Moonves joins the “things have stopped getting worse” crowd, whose voices include Rupert Murdoch. CBS expects third and fourth quarters to be better, and Moonves offered what Wachovia analyst Marci Ryvicker calls “somewhat bullish” guidance, for full-year 2009. Back to radio specifically, CFO Fred Reynolds says margins could start getting really healthy again – “If we get any growth in revenue, you’re going to see margins come back to their historical norm…because we made fundamental changes in how we operate our business. Not just laying off a clerk here, a clerk there.” Didn’t know CBS Radio employed any “clerks”, did you?
That’s the amount Leslie Moonves pledges to cut at both radio and TV, and squeezing out $80 million in costs from radio somehow sounds more drastic than the $80 million that’s coming out of Moonves’ beloved TV division. Moonves told his Q1 call that “we have taken the opportunity to re-structure our programming and talent costs across the board.” Unlike Clear Channel with its two massive waves of cuts on January 20 and April 28, CBS has ordered layoffs on an ongoing basis. Overall, Moonves joins the “things have stopped getting worse” crowd, whose voices include Rupert Murdoch. CBS expects third and fourth quarters to be better, and Moonves offered what Wachovia analyst Marci Ryvicker calls “somewhat bullish” guidance, for full-year 2009. Back to radio specifically, CFO Fred Reynolds says margins could start getting really healthy again – “If we get any growth in revenue, you’re going to see margins come back to their historical norm…because we made fundamental changes in how we operate our business. Not just laying off a clerk here, a clerk there.” Didn’t know CBS Radio employed any “clerks”, did you?