Revenues for CBS Radio were down 1% for the second quarter; so was television. The total revenue was $647 million in the local broadcasting segment.
CBS will start separating radio and television reporting beginning in the next quarter as it prepares to move forward with plans for an IPO of the radio group as well as pursue other alternatives.
Just as it did when the company sold outdoor, “the goal is to drive the maximum value of this asset,” CBS Corporation Chairman/CEO Leslie Moonves told analysts Thursday.
Asked whether splitting off radio would somehow tighten TV political ad pricing executives said no. “Local TV is the biggest driver,” said CFO Joe Ianniello. The sellers sell radio and television separately and the company doesn’t anticipate “any cannibalizing” from the loss of radio, he said.
