- This article describes the present CBS Corporation. For the CBS broadcasting networks, see CBS. From 1997 to 1999, there was a prior instance of CBS Corporation (formerly named Westinghouse) that was later purchased by Viacom; for details of this defunct company during the period, see CBS Corporation (1997).
CBS Corporation (NYSE: CBS) is an American-based media conglomerate focused on broadcasting, publishing, billboards, and television production, with most of its operations in the United States. The President and CEO of the company is Leslie Moonves. Sumner Redstone, whose company National Amusements is CBS's majority shareholder, serves as Chairman. The company came into being on December 31, 2005 and began trading on the NYSE on January 3, 2006. It is the legal successor to the "old" Viacom (see below). [2]
| File:CBSCorp.png | |
| Company type | Public (NYSE: CBS) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Broadcasting & Publishing |
| Founded | 1986[1] |
| Headquarters | New York, New York, USA |
Key people | Sumner Redstone, Chairman Leslie Moonves, President & CEO |
| Products | CBS, UPN, CBS Radio, more... |
| Revenue |  $14.536 billion USD (2005) |
 -$6.818 billion USD (2005) | |
| -$7.089 billion USD (2005) | |
Number of employees | |
| Website | www.cbscorporation.com |
History
Viacom was created in 1970 as the television syndication division of CBS, and was spun off in 1971. However, in 1999, Viacom acquired its former parent, by this time also named CBS Corporation, formerly Westinghouse Electric Corporation. The prior CBS Corp. also owned CMT and The Nashville Network (now Spike TV), which remained Viacom properties after the 2005 split, but the prior CBS did not own UPN, Showtime, Paramount Television, Paramount Parks, or Simon and Schuster.
In March 2005, Viacom announced plans of looking into splitting the company into two publicly traded companies, amid issues of the stock price stagnating (although it was alleged that another main force behind the split was the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy, which led to MTV not being allowed to produce any more halftime shows, they had also produced the show for Super Bowl XXXV, the first Super Bowl CBS aired since regaining NFL rights and become MTV's corporate sibling). On June 14, 2005, the Viacom board of directors approved the split of the company into two firms. The CBS Corporation name would be revived for one of the companies, to be headed by longtime television executive (and Viacom co-President) Leslie Moonves, and would include CBS, UPN, Infinity Broadcasting, Viacom Outdoor, Showtime Networks, and Paramount's television studio. These businesses were categorized as the "slow growth businesses" because while they provided steady cash flow, they don't have any growth potential. Some analysts argued that these businesses were suffocating the growth of the MTV Networks cable businesses.
The split was structured such that the "new" Viacom was spun off from the "old" Viacom, which was renamed CBS Corporation. In a sense, this was a repeat of the 1971 spinoff. However, in this case, CBS retained virtually all of the prior firm's broadcast TV assets, including its various syndication companies.
The split was completed on December 31, 2005[3], and the two new companies began trading on the NYSE, on the next business day, January 3, 2006.[4]
In the interim, Viacom/CBS was involved in a number of recent station sales. On December 2, 2004 Viacom acquired CBS affiliate KOVR-TV in Sacramento, from Sinclair Broadcast Group. Viacom also acquired two stations in West Palm Beach. During 2005, Viacom/CBS has announced it would sell several non-duopoly UPN affiliates, in Indianapolis, Columbus, New Orleans, and Oklahoma City, with possibilities of additional sales.
On January 24, 2006, CBS announced that it would merge UPN into Warner Bros.' WB network under the new name of The CW Television Network, effective in the fall of that year. Three days later, CBS announced that it was selling its Paramount Parks division. On May 23, 2006, CBS sold Paramount Parks to Cedar Fair, L.P.. With this acquisition, Cedar Fair becomes the third-largest theme park operator.
Announced early in 2006, CBS and DIC Entertainment signed a multi-year deal to provide three hours of programming that meet FCC standards for educational programming. The block would be called "KOL's Saturday Morning Secret Slumber Party on CBS" -- which is also a partnership with America Online's KOL kids service and will premiere on September 16, 2006. Shows included are Sabrina, the Animated Series, Littlest Pet Shop, Madeline, Dance Revolution and many others. [1] It was originally supposed to be called "CBS’s Saturday Morning Secret Slumber Party" but was renamed with KOL's alliance. [2]
On June 30, 2006, Cedar Fair, L.P. announced that it has completed its acquistion of Paramount Parks from CBS Corporation in a cash transaction valued at $1.24 billion.
Corporate governance
The board of directors of CBS include David R. Andelman, Joseph A. Califano, Jr., William S. Cohen, Charles K. Gifford, Bruce S. Gordon, Philippe P. Dauman, Leslie Moonves, Shari Redstone (non-executive Vice-Chair), Sumner Redstone (Chairman), Ann N. Reese, Judith A. Sprieser, and Robert D. Walter.
Assets
This is a summary of the main CBS divisions. For detailed assets see List of assets owned by CBS.
- Television networks: CBS Television, UPN (soon to be merged with The WB as CW in the fall of 2006), CSTV Networks, Showtime Networks
- Television broadcast affiliates: CBS Television Stations
- Television production and distribution: CBS Paramount Television, King World, etc.
- Radio: CBS Radio
- Digital Media: CBS Digital Media
- Outdoor advertising: CBS Outdoor
- Publishing: Simon & Schuster
- Consumer products: CBS Consumer Products
- Legacy brands: Westinghouse Electric Corporation (1998)
See also
- Viacom (1971-2005), the prior name of the post-2005 CBS Corporation.
- CBS Corporation (1997), an old instance of the company, purchased by the old Viacom in 1999,
- Viacom, the current Viacom, spun off in 2005.
- CBS Mandate, the logo/branding guidelines used on TV stations owned by CBS Corporation.
External links
Footnotes
- ^ The Viacom-CBS split was structured in such a way that the existing company (Viacom) changed its name to CBS Corporation, while the new Viacom is actually a newly founded spin-off company. For this reason, the newly rechristened CBS Corporation is actually the same company (Viacom) that was founded in 1986. The 1986 Viacom, in turn, was the successor to a previous company also known as Viacom and founded in 1971.
- ^ http://www.cbscorporation.com/media/pdf/CleanShareholderletterS.pdf
- ^ The CBS network ran an advertisement stating that the CBS Corporation would exist "beginning on January 3, 2006," (likely referring to be beginning of trading on the New York Stock Exchange), but the websites of the CBS Corporation and Viacom were split beforehand, with a notice on both sites stating that it officially occurred on December 31, 2005.
- ^ http://www.cbscorporation.com/media/pdf/CleanShareholderletterS.pdf