CBS to Divest 50 Radio Stations

CBS continued to trim its struggling radio portfolio and said it would divest 50 stations in 12 midsize markets. The 50 stations rep roughly $300M in annual revenue or about 15% of the radio division's revenue. After the divestitures, CBS will own about 90 radio stations. The company already held initial talks with prospective buyers, CBS said in its 2nd-Q conference call recently. Overall, CBS reported a 1% revenue increases to nearly $3.4 billion, but local radio and TV stations continue to face a persistently soft advertising environment. Radio revenue slipped 10% in 2nd-Q to $416M, compared to 2% growth for CBS' combined TV segments (though local TV stations were down) to $2.2B and 8% for outdoor. Publishing was down 7%. As a result of the rocky economy, CBS cut full-year profit outlook. The CEO and President of CBS said by selling these slower-growth stations, they can focus on the larger markets that are showing growth. According to him, the 15 recently reformatted major-market stations dramatically improved ratings and earnings. Divesting will allow them to focus on this opportunity in the largest markets, he added.