As promised, Dan Sileo, Morning Man on The Mighty 1090 in San Diego, asked CBS CEO Les Moonves why the company was getting out of radio, especially, Sileo said, when CBS was built on radio. Moonves agreed that the company was started and grew from the vision of William S. Paley who began it all in radio. Here’s what Moonves told Sileo about the future of CBS Radio.
Moonves said, “As the world has progressed and as we’ve moved into much more digital and much more streaming, it’s a world for us that is keyed on video. Radio is still a wonderful, wonderful business. So our intent is to spin off radio so it’s its own self-standing company, which will fit better than being part of a big conglomerate like ours which has keyed more on television. By no means do we think radio is not a great business. It’s a slower growth business than the video business is. But we have 117 radio stations and we think that will be a great standalone company. By no means are we deserting the radio business.”
You can listen to the entire Moonves interview with Dan Sileo HERE
The question about radio starts at 6:20.
CBS may go public because investors are no longer paying top dollar to buy AM/FM radio stations outright. That ship has sailed. They’ve studied the industry closely. Here’s what they’ve discovered. The same vision & strategies that led AM radio to where it is today are the foundation of FM radio’s future.
Agree with Paul’s spin-off scenario. Taking a page out of Silly Con Valley’s playbook. Dump it on the market and run!
He’s not seeing the big picture 🙁 Any radio station can become a TV station really easy.
Selling 117 stations. But not deserting the radio business. Ummm. Please explain.