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Business News Media
CBS planning to sell off US radio business
By Chris Cooke | Published on Wednesday 16 March 2016
Want to own an American radio station? Want to own 117 American radio stations? Then you are in for a treat, my friend. US media firm CBS is planning to sell its radio business. What glorious times we live in.
The company is planning to sell – or spin off into a standalone entity – its network of US stations because the radio advertising market remains challenging. Traditional radio faces new(ish) competition from satellite radio set-up Sirius, personalised radio services like Pandora, and other online music platforms, especially as the internet reaches more and more cars.
CBS boss Leslie Moonves told investors that he was considering the sale or spin-off of CBS Radio at an investor day in New York. Flogging off radio would enable the firm to focus on “content production and digital endeavours”, he said, which could “unlock” more value for shareholders. Fun times.
But don’t be expecting to be able to buy CBS Radio on eBay right away. “We will begin to explore strategic options”, Moonves said, according to Reuters. “We will be prudent and judicious. We will take our time to make sure that we do it right”.
Yeah, being prudent and judicious! If I was going to explore strategic options, that would be my approach too. I just don’t have any radio stations to prudently and judiciously sell off at the moment.
