CBS Radio

A division of Columbia Broadcasting System Corporation, CBS Radio was founded in late 1927 by Arthur Judson. In 1999, Viacom acquired CBS Corporation for $37 billion from Westinghouse Broadcasting [2]. Starting in 1996, CBS Corporation’s Radio division was called Infinity Broacasting until it reverted back the historical CBS Radio in 2005.

In 2006, CBS Corp. and Viacom split into two publicly traded companies and are traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

Current Events:

Going Digital-

In early January of 2015, CBS Radio invested in the digital radio platform and developed the new podcasting network, Play.it [3]. Available online and via mobile apps, Play.it combines hundreds of original podcasts with content from leading media brands ranging from sports to 48 Hours and 60 Minutes. With content available to stream or download, CBS Radio hopes to compete in the growing digital radio market.

By further extending the CBS Radio brand to the digital market, CBS Corp. plans to see a growth in annual radio profits. CBS Corporation CEO and President Leslie Moonves explained in a recent interview:

“Radio also continues to be profitable, … and we continue to build new audiences in radio, by extending our big-market content into the digital world.” [4]

– Leslie Moonves

Financials:

CBS Corporation Stock Index as of 12:50pm on April 17, 2015 [5] courtesy of Yahoo Finance [b]

CBS Corporation is a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange and on April 17, 2015, was traded at $60.63 per share. Due to a strong fourth quarter by CBS Corp., the company’s stock value lies between the 52 week low of $48.83 and the 52 week high of $65.24 [6].

CBS Corporation reported a strong fourth quarter on December 31, 2014. Although total revenue for 2014 was down 9.67% from 2013, reporting $13.81 billion, the fourth quarter numbers saw a spike compared to the previous year’s final quarter. Due to Thursday Night Football and the Midterm Elections, the total advertising revenue for CBS Corp. rose 4.1% to $2.14 billion, and CBS Radio revenues increased by 2% in the fourth quarter of 2014 [7].

The 2015 first quarter earnings report for CBS Corporation is scheduled to be announced on May 7, 2015 [8].

Stronghold in Sports-

Thus far in 2015, sports has been at the epicenter of conserving CBS Radio’s dominance in many major markets. In early January, CBS Radio announced its new deal with the Chicago Cubs to stream all games at live performances at Wrigley Field [9]. Purchasing the rights for seven years, CBS Radio’s deal with the Chicago Cubs dismisses a 90 year relationship between the Chicago baseball team and WGN-AM 720.

Also in January, CBS Radio announced it will become the exclusive program provider of the Baltimore Orioles on 105.7 WJZ-FM. After being out-bid in 2010, CBS Radio regains the rights to broadcast Orioles games [10].

These two tremendous deals improve the amount of sports programming CBS Radio controls, adding more content to the already impressive 330 AM and FM stations, including some in each of the top 10 markets [11].

In addition, CBS Radio announced in late March a deal with the Philadelphia Eagles and SportsRadio 94WIP for a multi-year broadcast partnership. This deal furthers CBS Radio’s control in major market sports play-by-play. The deal includes a new HD Radio station devoted to yearly around the clock Eagles coverage.

In addition to the Philadelphia Eagles, CBS Radio provides play-by-play broadcasting to NFL Franchises including the New York Giants, New England Patriots, Dallas Cowboys, Chicago Bears and many more.

New Leadership:

Arguably the largest story of 2015 for CBS Radio is the sudden retirement of CBS Radio President and Chief Executive Officer, Dan Mason [12].

After 17 years total with the company and 15 years as President and CEO, Dan Mason finds a successor in Andre Fernandez, previously President and COO of Journal Communications. Dan Mason leaves CBS with a legacy of launching dozens of new stations, refurbishing failing stations in major markets, moving CBS to the digital game with Play.it, and incorporating HD stations to the arsenal of CBS Radio.

As for his successor, Fernandez has a long history of success in the broadcasting industry, working in key financial roles at the General Electric Company and Telemundo [13]. In CBS Radio’s press release on the matter, CBS Corp. President and CEO, Leslie Moonves said:

“Andre is a terrific executive who brings a wealth of experience to this role – operations, financial management, programming and digital distribution, among many other attributes [14]”

-Leslie Moonves

Broadcast Stations:

In addition to housing top-rated play-by-play sports stations in over a dozen major markets in the United States, CBS Radio owns and operates all 10 top rated stations rated by Nielson Audio. CBS Radio claims to reach over 72 million consumer weekly, owning 117 total radio stations in 26 markets [15].

Recently, CBS Radio has been reformatting stations to obtain higher ratings. In early December 2014, CBS Radio traded 14 stations in Tampa, Philadelphia and Charlotte for 5 stations in Miami and Philadelphia [16]. One station, WRDW-FM 96.5, struggled with a consistently low share of the market, constantly being outperformed by iHeartRadio’s WIOQ 102.1. 96.5 Amp is currently ranked 19 in the Philadelphia market with a share of 2.3, and iHeartMedia, Inc.’s WIOQ hold a share of 4.7, currently ranked 8 in the market [17]. On April 10, 2015, CBS Radio announced its Philadelphia station 96.5 FM will reformat from Rhythmic CHR to a pop mainstream contemporary hit format [18].

The Altitude Group:

Leading the advertising department of CBS Radio is the Altitude Group. Directed with connecting consumers with companies, the Altitude Group’s client list includes Walgreens, Allstate, MasterCard, Mercedes, and much more.

On March 9, CBS Radio named Tony Mennuto as Vice President, Branded Content Solutions of the Altitude Group. His position is essential to promoting the CBS Radio brand through original content as well as through live-venues and performances. CBS Radio hopes Mennuto will bring fresh advertising content to be distributed throughout all stations and assets, from television to digital media [19].

Community Outreach:

On June, 16, CBS Radio’s 830 WCCO-AM in Minnesota is receiving the Service to America Award from the National Association of Broadcaster’s Education Foundation. The award honors outstanding community service by local television and radio broadcasters [20].

Due to the WCCO-AM’s Public Service Announcements, events, and fundraisers for the Minnesota community [21], the station assisted the hungry through a year-long campaign, collecting 1.73 million pounds of food [22].

CBS Radio Operations:

While revenues for CBS Corporation have slowed in growth in past years, the company continues to stand behind its radio business, CBS Radio. Despite a hedge fund lobbying the corporation to merge with Cumulus Media, CBS Corp. understands the value of CBS Radio’s assets in the digital market [23].

Because CBS Radio possesses a highly diverse presence in a large number of markets, advertisers see a value in the ability to select a station that fits their target audience. This proves to be valuable to the revenue of CBS Corporation, and with a growing audience in all 10 of the top markets, the value of CBS Radio can not be understated [24].

Although advertising spending on radio has fallen in recent years from 6% in 2013 to 4% in 2014, these numbers do not include digital radio, in which CBS is beginning innovate and create products and platforms to break into the digital industry [25].

play.it logo. Courtesy of play.it [c]

Text Sources:

[1] CBS Radio Contact Retrieved April 15, 2015

[2] CBS Merges with Viacom Retrieved April 16, 2015

[3] CBS Radio Develops Play.it Retrieved April 16, 2015

[4] CBS Radio Rises with Good 4th Quarter Retrieved April 16, 2015

[5] CBS Corporation Stock Retrieved April 16, 2015

[6] CBS Corp. Annual Income Reports Retrieved April 15, 2015

[7] 2015 CBS Corporations 4th Quarter Finances Retrieved April 15, 2015

[8] CBS Corp. to Report 2015 First Quarter Earnings on 05/07 Retrieved April 15, 2015

[9] CBS Radio announces WBBM-AM as Chicago Cubs Radio Stationc Retrieved April 16, 2015

[10] Orioles Return to CBS Radio after 5 Years Retrieved April 16, 2015

[11] CBS Sports Radio Retrieved April 16, 2015

[12] Andre Fernandez Named Mason Replacement in Press Release Retrieved April 15, 2015

[13] Andre Fernandez Replaces Mason Retrieved April 16, 2015

[14] CBS Radio Press Release, Andre Fernandez Replaces Dan Mason as President Retrieved April 16, 2015

[15] CBS Radio Profile Broadcasting Retrieved April 16, 2015

[16] CBS Radio trades with Beasley Broadcast Group Retrieved April 17, 2015

[17] Philadelphia Market Share Retrieved April 17, 2015

[18] CBS Radio Reformats New Philadelphia Station Retrieved April 17, 2015

[19] Tony Mennuto Named VP Branded Content in Press Release Retrieved April 17, 2015

[20] Service to America Awards Recipients Retrieved April 17, 2015

[21] CBS Press Release 830 WCCO-AM to Win National Community Service Award Retrieved April 17, 2015

[22] CBS Radio Local Station leads state’s largest food drive Retrieved April 17, 2015

[23] Forbes Ad Spending on Digital Changes CBS Radio’s Value Retrieve April 17, 2015

[24] Hedge Fund Pressures CBS to Merge Radio with Cumulus Retrieved April 17, 2015

[25] Marketing Charts Advertising Trends Retrieved April 17, 2015

CBS Radio

Posted on April 8, 2013 by Sarah Shelton

by Sarah Shelton

1515 Broadway
New York, NY 10036
(212) 846-3939
www.cbsradio.com

About CBS Radio

CBS Radio, a division of the television and radio company CBS Corporation, is the third largest radio station owner and operator in America with 127 broadcast stations in 28 major markets across the country under its control, and over 70 million listeners tuning in weekly.^[1] Its flagship broadcast formats are sports, news and talk, and CBS Radio continues to be the largest broadcaster of play-by-play coverage and discussion of the major sports franchises in America, including the MLB, NFL, NBA, and NHL.^[2] CBS Radio also offers local digital media in over two dozen markets in the US, with local traffic, news, weather as well as other recorded content for on demand access on the Internet and custom mobile apps.^[3] CBS Radio’s particular attention to on-air personalities has made it a continual standout in the increasing switch to automated and syndicated radio programming for broadcast radio today.^[4]

Key People

Dan Mason

Dan Mason was named president and CEO of CBS Radio in 2012 and oversees all stations as well as the day-to-day operations of the subsidiary. He reports directly to CBS Corporation CEO, Leslie Moonves. Mason has been with CBS Radio for almost two decades, previously serving as an advisor and consultant before stepping up for the role of CEO. He has an extensive background in radio programming and his success with the strategic growth of CBS stations has been reflected in ratings from listeners of all ages.^[5]

Kevin Weatherly

Kevin Weatherly is the Senior Vice President of Programming at CBS Radio, the Program Director of the top stations in the Los Angeles market, and also Kevin of Kevin and Bean, the flagship personalities of LA’s KROQ FM. He has been with CBS Radio for over two decades, helping develop audiences for fledgling bands through strategic programming and monumental development for the music industry and radio relationship. He has received accolades and awards from virtually every music publication, including Rolling Stone Magazine, Billboard, Entertainment Weekly and more.^[6]

A Brief History

In 1927, talent agent Arthur Jodson created the radio network United Independent Broadcasters in order to showcase the artists that he was working with and as an act of defiance to his employer for refusing to include his roster in their broadcasts. He named the new venture United Independent Broadcasters, but was soon merged with the Columbia Phonograph Company after financial struggles threatened to bury the station before it had even begun. Under the new name Columbia Phonograph Broadcasting Company, the station was launched in September 1927 and quickly grew to earn affiliates and employees, enough to catch the eye of investor William Paley, who bought the station in January 1929 rebranded as Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS). The station continued to grow by embracing advertising, and became a frontrunner in national radio. The company also expanded with ventures in television and film, putting CBS on the map as one of the top media companies in the world. After being outbid for the rights to NFL Broadcast in 1993 and under new leadership, CBS was sold to Westinghouse Corporation for $5.4 billion and put under the control of Viacom. In 2005 with the economic downturn, the television and film divisions of CBS were spun off under Viacom to improve stock market performance and the radio sector along with Infinity Broadcasting, a division of Viacom, were merged and rebranded as the new CBS Radio.^[7]

Timeline of Recent Events

On January 2, 2013, CBS Radio launched the largest major market 24 hour sports stations featuring high profile personalities, player and coach interviews, national game coverage and more. This is an effort to condense the 10 million listeners that tune in weekly to over 100 CBS affiliate stations for sports programming, and is meant to compete with rival ESPN Radio.^[8]

On January 3, 2013, CBS streamed Bon Jovi’s Tampa concert on Radio.com, the first live event streaming venture for the company. This is meant to rival the live streaming features of iHeartRadio, currently the frontrunner in online radio streaming and app-based radio services, and will lead to many more given the success. A first attempt in December 2012 was postponed due to a major storm affecting the East Coast.^[9]

On February 7, 2013, Kevin Weatherly announced a renewal of his contract with CBS Radio, after more than 20 years of unparalleled contribution to the music industry and radio programming today. An on air personality himself on KROQ FM as well as a main contributor to radio’s second largest market in the nation, Los Angeles, Kevin is excited to continue to use his skills and expertise to benefit CBS Radio.^[10]

The pioneering program CBS World News Roundup celebrated its 75th anniversary on March 13, 2013. It is the longest running newscast in history and provided a benchmark from which modern newscasts would be modeled. News programming was the capstone of CBS Radio programming in the 1950s and 1960s, when Americans turned to radio for entertainment and realtime war coverage. Legendary reporters such as Robert Trout and Edward R. Murrow got their start and made their mark on this program.^[11]

Financials

On March 27, 2013 CBS reported fiscal year-end results: revenue is up 2% to $3.7 billion and says that revenues from non-advertising sources is growing even faster than those from advertising.^[12]

As a venture of CBS Corporation, the stock price of CBS Radio is dependent on the overall stock performance of all areas of the company in the market. As of April 5, 2013, CBS Corporation stocks are at 45.20 a share, with over 8 million shares on the market. The stock prices tend to fluctuate and rise around the most popular sports seasons, but typically stick around 45.00 a share.^[13]

References
1. http://cbsradio.com
2. http://www.cbsradio.com/broadcast
3. http://www.cbsradio.com/local-digital
4. http://www.cbsradio.com/broadcast
5. http://www.cbsradio.com/executives?bio=dan-mason
6. http://www.cbsradio.com/programming?bio=kevin-weatherly
7. http://www.museum.tv/eotvsection.php?entrycode=columbiabroa
8. http://www.cbspressexpress.com/cbs-sports-radio/releases/view?id=34174
9. http://insideradio.com/article.asp?id=2623795#.UWHZt1vwJBo
10. http://www.cbspressexpress.com/cbs-radio/releases/view?id=34527
11. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57573836/reporting-on-history-cbs-world-news-roundup-marks-75-years/
12. http://insideradio.com/article.asp?id=2617560#.UWHZwFvwJBo
13. https://www.google.com/search?q=cbs+stock&aq=f&oq=cbs+stock&aqs=chrome.0.57j0l2j60j0j62.1484&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

CBS Radio/Infinity Broadcasting

Posted on September 18, 2012 by eapanett

CBS Radio – Courtesy of SportsMediaJournal.com

by Elgin Panetto

The media conglomerate known today as CBS Corporation Inc. was created in 1927, when a talent agent named Arthur Judson started his own radio network in order to showcase his own roster. He named his newly created network United Independent Broadcasters, but after a crippling amount of debt was accrued sold it to a man named William Paley for $400,000. [1] Columbia Broadcasting System, or CBS, has gone on to become one of the largest media companies in the world, with ventures in TV, Film, and Radio. In 2006 Viacom Inc., under the leadership of Sumner Redstone, decided to break up its entities to discontinue the age of media conglomerates and improve stock performance. During the split previously named Infinity Broadcasting, with their 179 stations at the time, was renamed CBS Radio and became a part of CBS Corporation under the leadership of Les Moonves. [2]

Company Overview:

CBS Radio currently holds 127 major market radio stations in 28 major markets throughout the United States of America. CBS Radio station formats run the full gamut including news, sports, talk, rock, country, Top 40, classic hits and urban. [3]

CBS Radio’s radio personalities attract almost 70 million weekly listeners. One of CBS Radio’s greatest strengths is their attention to on-air talent, in an age of radio where more automation usually means more dollars. In a recent interview with CBS Radio CEO Dan Mason, he explains the importance CBS Radio puts on the personalities who speak between playing music. “I don’t think the temptation is there to extract talk to add more commercials, the temptation is there to extract talk and thinking that was the clear pathway to get ratings. I believe that there is a fine line, a balance, that can’t be tilted to one side or another…” The rest of that interview with Mark Ramsey can be seen below:

CBS Radios Dan Mason on Radio’s Brands and its Digital Future from Mark Ramsey on Vimeo.

As stated before, CBS Radio stations can be found in 28 different major markets. In many of those markets CBS Radio finds itself with the #1 total rating. The list below, provided in the CBS Corporation 3^rd quarter 2012 Investor Newsletter, shows CBS Radio’s strong performance regarding revenue in some of the largest markets in the country.

CBS Radio Revenue Ranking in Top 10 Markets
New York No. 1
Los Angeles No. 2
Chicago No. 1
San Francisco No. 1
Dallas No. 3
Houston No. 2
Philadelphia No. 1
Atlanta No. 2
Washington, D.C. No. 3
Boston No. 1
[4]

In each of those markets, CBS Radio’s high arching influence over both music and talk format stations can be easily seen. Below are just some of CBS Radio’s most influential channels across the United States.

WCBS-F in NYC
WCBS in NYC
WINS in NYC
KRTH in LA
KROQ-F in LA
KCBS in SF
KYW in Philly

[5]

Executives

CBS Radio has been led by President and CEO Dan Mason for a total of 12 years. Mason started his position at the helm of CBS Radio in 1995 and continued until 2002. After a brief hiatus he returned as CEO in April of 2007. Mason has championed CBS Radio’s industry leading foray into the digital realm. As a keystone speaker at the 2011 RAIN (Radio and Internet Newsletter) Summit Dan Mason talked heavily about CBS Radio’s entrance into digital media, pointing out CBS Radio’s involvement streaming through Radio.com and Last.FM. He also noted that the profits are not coming yet, but success through digital streaming services will come in the long term. [6] Due to his outstanding leadership of CBS Radio, Dan Mason was awarded the National Radio Award in 2012 by the National Association of Broadcasters. [7]

Dan Mason – Courtesy of CBSRadio.com

Finances

CBS Radio’s performance, as a subsidiary company of CBS Corporation Inc., attributes to the stock performance of CBS Corporation Inc.. At the close of the New York Stock Exchange on December 5, 2012 CBS Corporation Inc. was trading at $35.43 a share. [8]

CBS Radio Stock – Courtesy of marketwatch.com

With $5.33 Billion of reported gross income in 2011, CBS Radio saw an increase of $.82 Billion over their reported gross income the previous year. After a steep drop from 2007 to 2009, CBS Radio has steadily increased gross income to the point of surpassing their 2007 mark. [8]

Recent Events

There have been many news-worthy moves by CBS Radio recently, whether it be format changes, new stations, acquisitions, or partnerships.

WODS 103.3 Format Change

At the end of the summer, WODS-FM in Boston changed formats. The switch moved the station from playing hits from the 60s-80s to yet another contemporary hits radio station, or CHR format. CBS Radio Market Manager in Boston Mark Hannon stated, “When looking at the habits of Boston radio listeners, it is clear the music most favored by the biggest group of people is contemporary hit music.” [9] The most recent ratings made available by stationratings.com have WODS-FM as the 12th most popular radio station in the Boston market. [5]

CBS Radio News receives Murrow Award

This past October the RTDNA (Radio Television Digital News Association) awarded CBS Radio News its fourth consecutive Edward R. Murrow Award. CBS Radio News was given the award due to excellence in broadcast and online journalism. At the awards CBS Radio News correspondent Cami McCormick, who was injured while reporting in Afghanistan, accepted the award for all of CBS Radio news. [10]

Edward R. Murrow Award – Courtesy of HuffingtonPost.com

CBS Radio steps up Hurricane Sandy relief efforts

In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, and the immense damage done to the east coast, CBS Radio used its vast resources and connections in the Music Industry to organize celebrity endorsements for donations to the American Red Cross. Some of music’s biggest stars such as Usher, Katy Perry, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, and Kenny Chesney recorded messages imploring audiences for donations. Usher’s public service announcement can be heard HERE. [11]

CBS re-ups contract with the Chicago Bears

For 13 years WBBM Newsradio in Chicago has been the exclusive provider of Chicago Bears live play-by-play announcement. The Chicago Bears have granted CBS Radio an extension of the companies exclusive rights to do the football team’s radio broadcast. The Bears have one of the largest fan bases in the entire sport, a size reflected by the astounding five CBS Radio stations that will simulcast each and every Bears game. [12]

Chicago Bears – Courtesy of RadioInk.com

CBS Radio buys 101.9 WRXP in New York

In early November CBS Radio announced the purchase of 101.9FM in New York, NY from Merlin Media for the sum of $75 Million Dollars. CBS Radio purchased the station in order to begin simulcasting WFAN on the higher definition 101.9FM. WFAN became the first ever all-sports talk station in 1987, and has pioneered the now insanely popular and lucrative 24/7 sports radio news cycle. WFAN houses many of sports radio’s biggest stars, including Boomer & Carton, Mike Francesa, and Joe Benigno. It also is the sole broadcaster of the Super Bowl champion New York Giants, New York Mets, Brooklyn Nets, and New Jersey Devils. This move by CBS Radio signals a response to ESPN NY’s recent decision to simulcast on 98.7FM. [13]

WFAN Logo – Courtesy of newyork.cbslocal.com

CBS Radio announces launch of CBS Sports Radio Network

Perhaps the biggest news in the radio industry in the past few months has been CBS Radio’s announcement of CBS Sports Radio. In their press release the company called the newly created station, “the largest major market sports radio network in the nation.” The network will launch on January 2, 2013 in at least eight stations full time. At the time of the announcement the station was reported to be carried part time in 14 more stations, and through a distribution deal with Cumulus Media Networks an additional 47 Cumulus stations. [14] Since then it’s been announced that the station will be on around 100 stations, with a reach of about 10 million households. While its estimated that ESPN Radio will continue to dominate with 350 full time stations in 30 million households, Dan Mason stated, “ESPN affiliates are in small markets. Maybe you find that adds up to a lot of audience.” [15]