What's holding up the final contract for Westwood One to rework its relationship with CBS Radio? It was back in April that WW1 announced a letter of intent with CBS Radio to extend their programming and distribution agreements through 2017, but with CBS no longer managing WW1 and employing its top officials (4/13/07 RBR #73). Once the contract is finalized it will have to be submitted to WW1 shareholders for approval.
According to a report in yesterday's New York Post, the original target date for a shareholder vote was May 15th, but that has obviously passed. A WW1 spokesman told RBR yesterday that the company had no comment on when the vote will take place or whether it will be rolled together with the annual shareholders meeting, also as yet unscheduled. The Post story noted speculation that UBS will be shopping WW1 for a buyout once the CBS agreement is in place and mentioned Citadel Broadcasting and former WW1 CEO Shane Coppola as potential bidders.
SmartMedia observation: Coppola maybe, but Citadel CEO Farid Suleman has already ruled out going after WW1. "We are full," he said in his Q1 conference call (5/9/07 RBR #91), telling an analyst his company has all it needs in terms of network radio with its acquisition of ABC Radio.
