CBS

CBS (acronym for Columbia Broadcasting System, its former name) is an American open television network, which began as a radio station, owned by the CBS Entertainment Group division of Paramount Global. It is the third largest broadcasting network in the world, behind the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) and the Brazilian Rede Globo. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network," in reference to the shape of the company logo, which represents an eye. It has also been called the 'Tiffany Network', a name that alludes to the perceived high quality of programming on CBS during the tenure of its founder, William S. Paley (1901–1990). refer to one of the first color television demonstrations on CBS, which were held in a former Tiffany & Co. in New York City in 1950, which would attract the name "Color Broadcasting System" during a time when such a feat was innovative.^{[ citation required]}

The network traces its origins to United Independent Broadcasters, Inc., a collection of 16 radio stations that was purchased by William S. Paley in 1928 and renamed the Columbia Broadcasting System . Under Paley's leadership, CBS would initially become one of the largest radio networks in the United States, and later one of the three largest American television networks. In 1974, CBS retired its full name and became known as simply CBS, Inc. The Westinghouse Electric Corporation acquired the network in 1995, eventually adopting the name of the company it had purchased to become CBS Corporation. In 2000, CBS came under the control of Viacom, which coincidentally had started out as a CBS spin-off in 1971. In late 2005, Viacom spun off, re-establishing CBS Corporation with the CBS television network at its center. However, in 2019 both companies merged again, creating the company ViacomCBS. ViacomCBS, now Paramount Global, is controlled by Sumner Redstone through National Amusements, his parent company.

The company is made up of several divisions: television, radio, news, sports and entertainment, among others. CBS supplies its programming to more than 200 independent and 5 owned stations in the United States, as well as other affiliates in foreign countries.

History

Years of Radio

The origins of CBS date back to January 21, 1927, with the creation of the "United Independent Broadcasters" in Chicago by Arthur Judson, a talent agent in New York. However, the fledgling chain soon needed additional investors; and the Columbia Phonograph Company, the parent company that owns Columbia Records, rescued it in April 1927; as a result, the network was renamed the "Columbia Phonographic Broadcasting System". Columbia Phonographic went on the air on September 18, 1927, with a performance by the Howard Barlow Orchestra from its parent station, WOR-AM in Newark, New Jersey, and fifteen affiliates.

Operating costs were high, particularly due to payments to AT&T for the use of its land lines, and in late 1927, Columbia Phonograph wanted out. In early 1928, Judson sold the network to the Isaac brothers. and Leon Levy (owners of WCAU, the network's Philadelphia affiliate), and his partner Jerome Louchenheim. None of the three was interested in taking over day-to-day management of the chain, so William S. Paley, the son of a Philadelphia cigar maker and a relative of the Levy family, was installed as president. With the record company out of the picture, Paley quickly changed the name to the "Columbia Broadcasting System". He believed in the power of radio advertising, because his family's line of cigarettes, "La Palina', doubled its sales after the young William convinced his elders to advertise on the radio. In September 1928, Paley bought Louchenheim's share of CBS and became its majority owner, with 51% of the company.

Delivery: Paley's First Year

During Louchenheim's brief rule, Columbia paid $410,000 to the Atlantic Broadcasting Company, commissioned by Alfred H. Grebe, for a small station in Brooklyn—WABC—that would become the network's flagship station. WABC was quickly upgraded, and the signal upgraded to a stronger frequency, 860 kHz. The physical plant was relocated as well—to Steinway Hall on West 57th Street in Manhattan. It was there that much of CBS's programming originated. The other owned and operated stations were KNX in Los Angeles, KQW (now KCBS) in San Francisco, WCAU (now WPHT) in Philadelphia, WJSV in Washington, D.C. (later WTOP, which moved into the domain in 2005; CBS's currently owned AM facility in this area is WFED, also a secondary CBS affiliate), WWNY in St. Louis, and WCCO in Minneapolis. These remain the primary CBS Radio Network affiliates today, with WABC (now known as WCBS) remaining the primary broadcaster. With the 1929 change, the chain could boast to its patrons that it had 47 affiliates.

Paley made quick moves to put his network on a firmer financial footing. In the fall of 1928, he entered into negotiations with Adolph Zukor of Paramount Pictures, who planned to move that company into radio in response to RCA planning forays into the motion picture industry with the advent of talkies. The deal materialized in September 1928. 1929: Paramount obtained 49 percent of CBS in reward for a portion of its share worth $3,800,000 at the time. The agreement specified that Paramount would buy back that same share on March 1, 1932, for a fixed cost of $5,000,000, provided CBS earned $2,000,000 during 1931 and 1932. For a brief time, there were talks that the network might be rebranded as "Paramount Radio", but these lasted. for just one month—the crash of 1929 brought the entire stock market to a crash. It galvanized Paley and his troops, however. According to Paley, "We had no choice but to reverse the fortunes of our network and win the cost of $2,000,000 in two years.... This is the atmosphere in which CBS was made into what it is today& #34;. Nearly bankrupt, the movie studio re-sold its shares to CBS in 1932; while Paramount was in trouble, this was not the case with CBS.

In the first year of Paley's tenure, CBS's grosses tripled, from $1,400,000 to $4,700,000.

The gross income of William S. Paley and his board of directors saw an increase during his first decade of management.

Most of the increase paid off as Paley made his second enhancement to CBS's business plan—improved relations with his affiliates. There were two types of programs at that time: sponsored and nutritious, i.e., non-sponsored. CBS's rival, the National Broadcasting Company (NBC), paid its affiliates for each sponsored program they aired, and charged them for each nutritious program they aired as well. It was onerous for small and medium-sized stations, and the result was while in many unhappy affiliates as a very limited implementation of nutritional programs. Paley had a different idea, designed to ensure that CBS programs would be carried on as many radio sets as possible: he would give away the nutritional programs for free, provided the station aired each sponsored show, and accept the check from CBS to do this. CBS soon had more affiliates than either the NBC Red Network or the NBC Blue Network combined.

Paley was a man who valued style and taste, and in 1929, once he had satisfied his many affiliates and owned a company with solvency on the mend, he relocated his inequity to 485 Madison Avenue: & #34;the heart of the advertising community, right where Paley wanted to position his company," and where CBS would stay until its move to Black Rock in 1965. When its new landowners expressed skepticism about the network and its reputation, Paley he overcame his scruples by purchasing a $1,500,000 lease.

1930s: CBS Takes on the Red and Blue Networks

The healthy Kate Smith, chosen by Paley for La Palina HourI was harmless to the lives of American women.

Because NBC was the broadcasting division of the manufacturer Radio Corporation of America (RCA), its boss, David Sarnoff, handled his radio business decisions as if he were a hardware store; the NBC affiliates had the latest RCA equipment, and were often the more established stations, or were on "clear channel" frequencies. However, Sarnoff's affiliates were wary of him. Paley had no such divided loyalties: his success, and that of his affiliates, rose and fell with the quality of programming on CBS.

Paley had an innate sense of perfect pitch, which, as written by David Halberstam, was "a gift from the gods, and utterly pure, because he knew what was good and would sell, what what was bad and was going to sell, and what was good but wasn't going to sell, and he never confused one for the other." As the 1930s approached, Paley set about creating the stable of talent from CBS. The chain became home to many popular music and comedy stars, including Jack Benny (aka "Your Canada Dry Humorist"), Al Jolson, the duo of George Burns and Gracie Allen, and Kate Smith, whom Paley personally selected for his family show La Palina Hour because she was not the type of woman who would make American women jealous. When, on a mid-ocean voyage, Paley heard a phonograph record of a "crooner" young, he rushed to the ship's radio room and cabled New York to immediately sign Bing Crosby to a contract for a daily radio show.

While CBS's primetime lineup featured music, comedy, and variety shows, daytime was a direct conduit into American homes—and into the hearts and minds of American women; for many, it was the bulk of their adult human contact during the course of the day. The CBS timetables recognized early on that this intimate connection could be a boon for advertisers of products that appealed to women. Beginning in the 1930s, astrologer Evangeline Adams would consult the heavens on behalf of listeners who sent in their days of birth, a description of his troubles—and a box-top from sponsor, Forhan's Toothpaste. Tony Wons' low-key murmur, backed by tender violin, "made him a soul mate to millions of women" on behalf of the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, whose Camel cigarettes were "as fresh as the morning dew on a field of clover." The most popular radio personality of that era was M. Sayle Taylor of The Voice of Experience, though her name was never spoken on air. Women submitted tens of thousands of descriptions of their most intimate relationship problems to The Voice each week; its sponsors, Musterole Ointment and Haley's M–O Laxative, enjoyed sales increases of several hundred percent in just the first month of The Voice of Experience.

In the CBS waves, Charlie Chaplin finally exposed his voice to the world after twenty years of pantomime.

As the decade progressed, a new genre opened up when it came to daytime show lineups: serial dramas (called soap operas, a name derived from soap operas). products whose manufacturers sponsored it, through the advertising agencies that produced it). Although the form (usually quarter-hour episodes) proliferated widely in the mid-to-late 1930s, they all had the same basic premise—the characters "fall into two categories: 1) those in trouble, and 2)) the helpers of those who had problems. The characters in helping hand were usually older." On CBS, Just Plain Bill, which brought human perception into homes, was sponsored by the brand of pain relievers Anacin; Your Family and Mine, which focused on the vicissitudes in the lives of an ordinary family, was made possible courtesy of Sealtest Dairy products; Bachelor's Children initially hawked Old Dutch Cleanser, and later Wonder Bread; and Aunt Jenny's Real Life Stories was sponsored by Spry Vegetable Shortening. Our Gal Sunday (also sponsored by Anacin), The Romance of Helen Trent (sponsored by cosmetics brand Angélus), Big Sister (sponsored by the Rinso laundry soap brand), and many other shows joined the lineup of daytime shows.

CBS headquarters on the West Coast.

Thanks to its daytime and primetime programming, CBS prospered in the 1930s. In 1935, its gross sales were $19,300,000, producing a profit of $2,270,000. In 1937, the network earned a total of $28,700,000 and had 114 affiliates, almost all of whom cleared all of the programming supplied by the network, thus keeping both its ratings and revenue at a high level. In 1938, CBS still acquired the American Record Corporation, the parent company of its previous investor Columbia Records.

In 1938, both NBC and CBS opened studios in Hollywood, California, the center of the motion picture industry, to attract the best talent in that district to their respective networks. NBC located its studio in Radio City at the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Vine Street, while CBS located its studio two blocks away, in Columbia Square.

CBS launches its independent news division

The extraordinary potential of radio news revealed itself in the 1930s, when CBS abruptly came across a live telephone connection to a prisoner named "The Deacon," inside and in real time, a riot and conflagration at Ohio State Penitentiary; for CBS, it was "a shocking blow to journalism". news on their chains; those who did were inclined to expect veto rights over it." There had also long been a wariness between radio and newspapers; newspapers had rightly concluded that the upstart radio industry would compete with them for two reasons: advertising dollars and news coverage. By 1933, they stood up for themselves, many no longer publishing radio schedules for the convenience of their readers, or allowing their news to be read over the air for the benefit of the radio. successively, it began to experience a noticeable delay when the urban department stores, the largest newspaper advertisers, who in turn owned many radio stations, threatened to withhold their advertisements from the press. A short-lived truce planned in 1933 was It specified that the newspapers proposed that the execution of newscasts on the radio be prohibited except in the intervals of 09:00-10:00 and 21:00-22:00, and the broadcast of informative stories that had less than twelve hours.

CBS News engineers prepare a remote: In 1937, Judge Hugo Black denied any connection to the Ku Klux Klan.

It was in this climate that Paley proposed to "enhance the prestige of the CBS radio network, to make it appear more advanced, dignified, and socially conscious in the public mind". He did so through of nutritious programming like performances by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Norman Corwin's reflective drama—and an internal news division to collect and present the news, free from fickle providers like newspapers and wire services. In the fall of 1934, CBS launched its own news division, formed in its early years by Vice President Ed Klauber and News Director Paul White. Because there was no blueprint or prototype for real-time news coverage, the division's early efforts used the shortwave link that CBS had been using for five years to bring live broadcasts of European events to the US airwaves..

In 1935, Edward R. Murrow was hired as Director of Negotiations. He was tutored in microphone technique by Robert Trout, and quickly faced a growing rivalry with his boss, Paul White. Murrow was glad to "leave the wintery atmosphere of the office in New York" when he was dispatched to London as CBS's European director in 1937, when Adolf Hitler and his growing threat underscored the need for a robust bureau that would cover news in Europe. Murrow, who was described by Halberstam as "the right man in the right place in the right age," began assembling a staff of journalists—including William L. Shirer, Charles Collingwood, and Eric Sevareid—who they would become known as 'Murrow's Boys'. These drew "in Murrows own image", covering history in progress and (sometimes) making history themselves: on March 12, 1938, Hitler bravely annexed Austria and extensive coverage was quickly established, with Shirer in London, Edgar Ansel Mowrer in Paris, Pierre J. Huss in Berlin, Frank Gervasi in Rome, and Trout in New York. Thanks to "Murrow and Boys", the format was conceived of The CBS World News Round-Up, which is still ubiquitous in broadcast news.

Murrow galvanized his American listeners with his nightly reports from the rooftops during the days of the "London Blitz": even before the attack on Pearl Harbor, the conflict became "the history of the survival of Western civilization, the most heroic of all possible stories about any war. In fact, he was reporting on the survival of the English-speaking peoples." In his "tormented, masculine voice," Murrow contained and mastered the panic and danger he felt, thus communicating it even more efficiently to his audience. Using his characteristic self-reference "This reporter", he did not report the news so much as he interpreted it, and combined simplicity of expression with subtlety of nuance. Murrow himself said, "I try to describe events in terms that make sense to the trucker, without insulting the professor's intelligence." When he returned home for a visit in late 1941, Paley threw an "extraordinarily elaborate reception" for him at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel. Of course, his goal was more than just honoring the "star"; newest release from CBS—was an announcement to the world that Paley had finally transformed his network from a mere pipeline for the broadcast of programming created by others to a true cultural force.

Once the war was over and Paley returned for good, he was like a "superstar with prestige and freedom and respect, from his profession and from his company.", and as television news became very important, it was to run wild, both on the radio news and on the television news, confronting Senator Joseph McCarthy and eventually even William S. Paley, and with such a formidable foe, even the Murrow's vast account would soon dry up.

Panic: The War of the Worlds Radio Broadcast

Orson Welles frightened the country with its radio broadcast The War of the Worlds.

On October 30, 1938, CBS earned a taste of infamy when Orson Welles and The Mercury Theater on the Air broadcast a radio adaptation of the novel The War of the Worlds (The War of the Worlds in Spanish), written by H. G. Wells. Its exclusive format, a contemporary version of the story in the form of fake newscasts, brought a state of panic into the minds of many CBS listeners, leading them to believe that invaders from the planet Mars were devastating Grover's Mill in New Jersey., despite three notices during the broadcast that claimed that all this was a work of fiction. The flood of publicity after the broadcast had two effects: the FCC would ban news bulletins from carrying false news during dramatic programming, and The Mercury Theater on the Air saw its patronage increase, becoming The Campbell Playhouse, which sold soup. Welles, for his part, summed up the broadcast as "the radio version of The Mercury Theatre of dressing in a leaf and jumping out of a bush and saying 'Boo!'"

Arrival of Edmund A. Chester

Before the start of World War II, CBS recruited Edmund A. Chester, who was serving as Associated Press Bureau Chief for Latin America, to serve as the director of Latin American Relations and the director of Shortwave Broadcasting for the CBS radio network (beginning in 1940). In this role, Chester coordinated the development of The Network of the Americas with the United States Department of State, Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs (chaired by Nelson Rockefeller), and Voice of America. This network provided vital news and cultural programming throughout South and Central America during the pivotal era of World War II, and fostered diplomatic relations between the United States of America and less developed nations on the continent. It featured such popular radio broadcasts as Viva América, which showcased important musical talent to both North and South America, accompanied by the CBS Pan-American Orchestra operated under the musical direction by Alfredo Antonini (including: Juan Arvizu, Nestor Mesta Chayres and John Serry Sr.). The post-war era also marked the beginning of CBS's dominance in the field of radio.

1940s: Peak of Radio

As 1939 drew to a close, Bill Paley announced that 1940 would be "the greatest year in American radio history." 1940 would truly be the heyday of radio for every caliber. Almost all of the 1939 advertisers renewed their contracts for 1940; manufacturers of farm tractors made radio sets standard on their machines. Paper rationing during this wartime limited the size of newspapers—and therefore, advertisers—and when newspapers rejected them, they emigrated. to radio sponsorship. In 1942, an act of Congress converted advertising spending into a tax benefit, causing automobile and tire manufacturers—who had no products to sell because they had become manufacturers of war products —scrolled to sponsor symphony orchestras and serious radio dramas. In 1940, only one-third of radio programs were sponsored, while two-thirds were nutritious; by mid-decade, the statistics had been flipped—now two out of three shows had sponsors who paid money, and only a third were nutritious.

In the 1940s, CBS was vastly different from its early days; many of the veterans' old guards had passed away, retired, or passed away. None of these changes was greater than that in Paley himself: he had become a difficult employer, who "had gradually changed from a leader to a despot". He spent much of his time searching for social connections and cultural practices; his "hope was that CBS could somehow learn how to function on its own". and they had special racks for a hundred ties.

Dr. Frank Stanton, second only to Paley on his impact on CBS, served as president from 1946 to 1971.

As Paley's power grew more and more, he installed a series of buffer executives who sequentially assumed more and more power at CBS: initially Ed Klauber, then Paul Kesten, and finally Frank Stanton. Second only to Paley as the originator of CBS's style and ambitions in its first half-century, Stanton was "a magnificent mandarin who functioned as the company's superintendent, spokesman, and image maker." He came to the network in 1933 after sending copies of his doctoral thesis A Critique of Present Methods and a New Plan for Studying the Behavior of Radio Listeners to the higher-ups at CBS, and they responded with a job. He scored an early coup with his study Memory for Visually Presented Versus Oral Advertising Copy, which CBS marketers used to great effect while bringing in new sponsors. 1946 Paley appointed Stanton as the president of CBS, and promoted himself to the position of Executive Director.

Despite, or perhaps because of, the influx of advertisers and their money, the 1940s were hard on network radio. The biggest challenge came in the form of an investigation of network broadcasting by the FCC. Although this had actually already begun in 1938, it only picked up steam in 1940 under its new CEO, James Lawrence. Fly. In 1943, when the smoke had cleared, NBC was shedding its Blue Network, which had become ABC. CBS was also affected, though not as severely: the brilliant contract signed in 1928 by Paley for his affiliates, which had given CBS the first claim on the airwaves of local stations during sponsored time—the option to chain—came under attack as restrictive to local programming. The final compromise allowed the chain option for three out of four hours during specified time slots, but the new regulations virtually did not. they had a practical effect, because almost all the stations accepted the network's regulations, especially the sponsored hours that made them money. CBS was also forced by Fly's panela to sell its artist representation office to the Music Corporation of America, and as such, became the Management Corporation of America.

Arthur Godfrey spoke directly to the listeners individually, making him a main fairer in the television era.

On the air, the war had an impact on almost every show. Variety shows wove patriotism throughout their comedy and music segments; serial dramas had stories in which characters entered the service to participate in the war. Even before hostilities began in Europe, one of the most played songs on the radio was "God Bless America", written by Irving Berlin and made popular on CBS by Kate Smith. Although a Censorship Bureau established since the days of the attack on Pearl Harbor, censorship would be entirely voluntary. Few shows submitted scripts for review; most did not. The regulations the Bureau issued prohibited weather reports, including announcements of rain during sports games, news of troop, ship, or aircraft movements, and live interviews with men on the street. The improv ban caused quizzes, contests, and amateur hours to wither in length.

Striking was "the permanence of granite" of the shows at the top of the ratings. The vaudeville and music personalities were the same ones who had been popular in the 1930s: Benny, Crosby, Burns and Allen, and Edgar Bergen had played on radio for their entire existence. of radio. A notable exception to this was the relatively new Arthur Godfrey who, as late as 1942, was still hosting a morning show in Washington, D.C. Godfrey, who had been a cemetery salesman and cab driver, pioneered the style of speaking directly to the listener as an individual. Combined, their shows contributed 12% of all of CBS's revenue.

In 1947, Paley, still the "chief scout" for CBS, he led a highly publicized talent roundup for NBC. One day, while Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll were hard at work writing the venerable show Amos and Andy for NBC, Paley came up with an astonishing offer: 'Everything you're making now, I'll give you. I'll give double." Capturing NBC's main show was enough of a blow, but Paley repeated it in 1948 with such longtime NBC employees as Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy and Red Skelton, as well as previous defectors from the network. CBS Jack Benny (the best comedian on radio) and Burns and Allen. Paley achieved this defeat with a legal settlement reminiscent of his 1928 contract that caused him to leave NBC-affiliated broadcasters and merge with CBS: CBS would buy the names of the stars as property, in exchange for a sum large global payroll and a salary. The plan invoked the vastly different tax rates between income and capital gains, so CBS gave the stars more than double their income, and would also prevent any counterattack by NBC on the names of the actors. As a result of this departure, after twenty years, CBS finally defeated NBC in the ratings.

It was not merely to outdo his rival Sarnoff that Paley directed his foray of talent; he, and all of radio, had their eyes on the stemming force that cast a shadow over radio throughout the 1940s—television.

1950s: Radio gives way to television

In the spring of 1940, a CBS staff engineer, Peter Goldmark, designed a system for color television that CBS management hoped would help the network compete with NBC and its existing system in black and white. The CBS system 'provided bright and stable colours', while the NBC system was 'crude and unstable, but 'compatible'';. Lately, the FCC rejected the CBS system because it was incompatible with RCA's; as a result, CBS was left behind in the early age of television. In 1946, only 6,000 television sets were in operation, all in the New York metropolitan area; in 1949, the number was 3,000,000, and in 1951, it was 12,000,000. Sixty-four American cities had television stations, although most of them had only one.

Radio continued to be the backbone of the company, at least into the early 1950s, but it was a "strange period, comparable to twilight". Fred Allen, a venerable NBC star, saw his ratings decline when he faced off against ABC's upstart contest Stop the Music!; within weeks, he was rejected by his old sponsor, the Ford Motor Company, and abruptly removed from the scene. Bob Hope, once a spirited radio personality, now saw his ratings decline as well, from 23.8 in 1949. to 5.4 in 1953. In 1952, "death seemed imminent for radio" in its familiar guise; most tellingly, the major backers were eager for the change.

Gradually, as network television took shape, radio stars began to migrate to the new medium. Many programs were broadcast in both media while the transition was already becoming an imminent fact. The radio serial The Guiding Light moved to television in 1952 and ran on that medium for another fifty-seven years; Burns and Allen, Lucille Ball, and Our Miss Brooks also made the transition in the same period (although the latter continued simultaneously on radio for the entirety of her television life). One of the highest-rated shows, The Jack Benny Program, ended its radio broadcasts in 1955, and Edgar Bergen retired from radio in 1957. When CBS announced in 1956 that its Radio operations had lost money, while the television network had made money, it was clear where the future of the company lay. When the serial Ma Perkins went off the air on November 25, 1960, only eight relatively minor series remained. Primetime radio broadcasts ended on September 30, 1962, when Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar and Suspense last aired.

CBS radio programming after 1972

Arthur Godfrey's retirement in April 1972 marked the end of long-form radio; radio programming after that consisted of hourly news summaries, known collectively in the 1970s as Dimension; and commentary, including the Spectrum series which evolved into the "Point/Counterpoint" on the network's Sunday afternoon show 60 Minutes, and on First Line Report, a news and analysis program delivered by CBS correspondents. The network also continued to offer traditional radio programming through its late-night CBS Radio Mystery Theater, which was the only stronghold of radio programming from 1974 to 1982. The CBS Radio Network continues to the present, offering hourly newscasts, including its flagship program, the CBS World News Roundup in the morning and afternoon; its sister weekend show, CBS News Weekend Roundup; The Osgood File, a news-related segment, hosted by Charles Osgood; What's in the News, a one-minute story summary; and such other segments as commentary from radio personality Dave Ross and tipping segments from various other sources. CBS Radio is the last of the fourth largest radio networks to still be owned and operated by its founding company; ABC Radio was sold to Citadel Broadcasting in 2007, while Mutual (now defunct) and NBC Radio were acquired by Westwood One in the 1980s (Westwood One and CBS were under common ownership from 1993 to 2007).

Expansion and growth as a television network

CBS's early television broadcasts were experimental, often lasting only an hour a day, reaching only a limited area around New York (through its station W2XAB, channel 2, later renamed WCBW and is now called WCBS-TV). To catch up with its rival RCA, CBS bought Hytron Laboratories in 1939, immediately introducing the department of television sets and broadcasting. Although there were many competing patents and systems, RCA dictated the content of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) technical standards, and took center stage. attention stations of CBS, the DuMont Television Network, and others introducing television to the world at the second-rate New York General Exposition of 1939. The FCC began licensing commercial television stations on July 1, 1941; the first license was given to RCA station WNBT (now known as WNBC); the second license, issued that same day, went to WCBW (now WCBS-TV). CBS-Hytron offered a practical color system in 1941, but it was not compatible with the black-and-white standards set by RCA. Over time, and after considerable interpolation, the FCC rejected CBS's technology in favor of RCA's.

During the World War II years, commercial broadcasting on television was dramatically reduced. Towards the end of the war, commercial television resumed broadcasting, with an increased level of programming evident in the period between 1945 and 1947 on the three New York television stations that operated in those years (the local stations NBC, CBS, and DuMont). However, as RCA and DuMont competed to establish networks and offer enhanced programming, CBS lagged behind, advocating an industry-wide shift, and prompting a reset to UHF for its color system, which was incompatible with white-and-white broadcasts. black. Only in the 1950s, when NBC dominated television and black-and-white broadcasts were extensive, did CBS begin to buy or build its own stations (outside of New York), in Los Angeles, Chicago, and other major cities. Until this time, CBS programming was seen on such stations as KTTV in Los Angeles, in which CBS—to ensure removal of programming in Los Angeles—acquired a 50% interest, in partnership with the newspaper The Los Angeles Times. CBS then sold its interest in KTTV (now the Fox network's flagship station) and in 1950, bought out the pioneering Los Angeles station KTSL (Channel 2) in its entirety, renaming it KNXT (a name derived from the ownership existing CBS radio station, KNX), which eventually became KCBS-TV. The "talent raid" that CBS led on NBC in the mid-1940s had brought established radio stars; they also became television stars on CBS. A reluctant CBS star refused to bring her radio show, My Favorite Husband , to television unless the network re-founded the show with her real-life husband. Paley and President Frank Stanton had so little faith in the future of the series starring that star, Lucille Ball, that they granted her wish, renaming the show I Love Lucy and allowing her husband, Desi Arnaz, take financial control of the production. This was the brainchild of the Desilu Productions empire, run by Ball and Arnaz, and became the template for television series production to this day.

In the late 1940s, CBS provided the first live television coverage of the United Nations General Assembly process (in 1949). This journalistic prowess was under the direction of Edmund A. Chester, who was appointed to the position of "Director for News, Special Events, and Sports" on CBS Television in 1948.

As television came to the forefront of entertainment and information in the United States, CBS dominated television, as it had previously done radio.^{[citation needed]} In 1953, the CBS television network would make its first profit, and would maintain television dominance in the period between 1955 and 1976 as well. By the late 1950s, the network frequently controlled seven or eight of the slots in the top 10 ratings list, with such well-respected shows as Route 66. This success would continue for many years, with CBS being knocked out of the top spot only by the rise of ABC in the mid-1970s. Perhaps due to its status as the major ratings network, in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In the 1970s CBS felt freer to take a chance on such controversial properties as The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour and All in the Family and their numerous spin-offs during this period.

In the television season of 1965-1966, CBS showed this version of its popular logo, the "Eyemark", before programs presented in color.

One of the most popular shows on CBS at the time was M*A*S*H, a dramatic comedy based on the hit Robert Altman film. It aired from 1972 to 1983, and was based, like the movie of the same name, during the Korean War, in an Army Mobile Surgical Hospital. The final episode aired on February 28, 1983, and ran for 2½ hours. It was watched by almost 70 million Americans (77% of the total audience) and was established as the most watched episode in the history of American television.

Early color issues (1953-1967)

Although CBS-TV was the first network with a full-color television system in operation, it lost out to RCA in 1953, due in part to the fact that CBS's color system was incompatible with existing black-and-white televisions. black. Although RCA, then the parent company of NBC, made its color system accessible to CBS, the network refused to push RCA's profits, and for the rest of the decade, its color broadcasts were limited to a few special programs, including Ford Star Jubilee, which introduced MGM's hit The Wizard of Oz to television; a musical adaptation of Cinderella by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II; and the musical adaptation of Aladdin by Cole Porter; and a 1958 production of The Nutcracker choreographed by George Balanchine.

Red Skelton was the first anchor to televise his weekly shows in color, using a converted movie studio, in the early 1960s. Beginning in 1963, at least one of CBS's shows, The Lucy Show, began filming in color at the insistence of its star and producer, Lucille Ball, who claimed that episodes produced in color would command more money when they were finally sold in syndication; however, that program was still broadcast in black and white until the end of the 1964-1965 season. All this would change in the mid-1960s, when market pressure forced CBS to add color programs to the regular schedule for the 1965-1966 season and complete the transition during the 1966-1967 season. In the fall of 1967, almost all of CBS's programs were in color, as were those of NBC and ABC. A notable exception was Twentieth Century, which consisted mostly of stock footage, although even that show used at least some color footage in the late 1960s.

1971-1986: The "Rural Purge" and success in the 1970s

By the late 1960s, CBS was broadcasting virtually all of its schedule in color, but many of its shows (including The Beverly Hillbillies, Mayberry R.F.D., Petticoat Junction, Hee Haw, and Green Acres) appealed more to older, rural viewers than to younger, urban, and affluent audiences. Fred Silverman (who would later head ABC, and then NBC) then made the decision to cancel most of those shows in mid-1971 in what became colloquially known as the "Rural Purge," starring of Green Acres, Pat Buttram, noting that the network canceled "any program that contained a tree".

While "rural" were cancelled, new hits including The Mary Tyler Moore Show, All in the Family, M*A*S*H*, The Bob Newhart Show, Cannon, Barnaby Jones, Kojak, and The Sonny & The Cher Comedy Hour replaced them and kept CBS at the top of the ratings until the mid-1970s. Most of these hits were overseen by CBS West Coast Vice President Alan Wagner., in 1976 60 Minutes moved to 7:00 p.m. ET on Sundays and became a sleeper hit.^{[citation needed]}

While working for CBS, Silverman also initially developed his strategy for creating spin-offs of established hits, such as The Mary Tyler Moore Show, All in the Family, and Maude, among other programs.

After Silverman's departure, CBS lagged behind ABC in the 1976-1977 season, but still had strong ratings, based on its previous hits and such new shows as One Day at a Time, Alice, WKRP in Cincinnati, The Dukes of Hazzard, and Dallas.

In 1982, ABC was badly beaten, NBC was in dire straits with many unsuccessful programming efforts endorsed by Silverman during his tenure with that network, and CBS once again outperformed both networks, through of Dallas (and its spin-off Knots Landing), Falcon Crest, Magnum P.I., Simon & Simon, and 60 Minutes. There were also new hits – Kate & Allie, Newhart, Cagney & Lacey , Scarecrow and Mrs. King , Murder, She She Wrote – but the resurgence was short-lived. CBS was in debt as a result of Ted Turner's unsuccessful effort to take control of CBS. The battle was led by CBS CEO Thomas Wyman. CBS sold its station KMOX-TV in St. Louis, allowing the purchase of a large portion of its shares (less than 25 percent) by Lawrence Tisch, the president of Loew's Inc. Consequently, a collaboration between Paley and Tisch led to Wyman's slow firing, with Tisch becoming COO, and Paley returning as CEO.

1986-2002: Heartbreak of the Tiffany Network

In 1984, The Cosby Show and Miami Vice debuted on NBC and immediately earned high ratings, returning the network to number one in the 1985-1986 season together. with such other hits as Family Ties, The Golden Girls, L. A. Law, ALF and 227. In turn, ABC was also on the mend with hits like Dinasty, Who's the Boss?, Hotel, and Growing Pains. By the 1988-1989 season, CBS had fallen to third place, behind ABC and NBC, and had to rebuild on a larger foundation.

Ironically, some of the groundwork had been laid as the chain fell in the ratings, with hits from the most recent revival including Simon & Simon, Falcon Crest, Murder, She She Wrote, Kate & Allie, and Newhart, still staying on the schedule, and with recent debuts of upcoming hits, including Designing Women, Murphy Brown, Jake and the Fatman, and 48 Hours. Also, CBS was still getting decent ratings from 60 Minutes, Dallas, and Knots Landing. However, the ratings for Dallas at this time fell far short of the ratings the show had in the early 1980s. During the early 1990s, the network would bolster its sports lineup by adding broadcasts of the Major League Baseball and the Winter Olympics.

Over time, the network was able to draw strong ratings from new shows like Diagnosis Murder, Touched by an Angel, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, Walker, Texas Ranger, and Jake and the Fatman during this period, and CBS was able to claim the first-place crown. briefly, in the 1992-1993 season, though its demographics skewed as older than ABC, NBC, or even the fledgling Fox Broadcasting Company. In 1993, the network made a break from establishing the Late Show, a successful talk show franchise, to compete with The Tonight Show on NBC when it signed David Letterman out of the network. NBC after the host was passed over as Johnny Carson's successor on Tonight, in favor of Jay Leno. However, CBS would soon take a huge hit in a move that would change American television forever.

In 1993, the Fox network outbid CBS for the broadcast rights to the National Football League, resulting in several stations changing their affiliations and merging with Fox. The loss of the NFL, along with an ill-fated effort to woo more viewers young, led to a drop in the ratings for CBS. The network also withdrew its coverage of Major League Baseball (after losing approximately $500 million over a four-year span) in 1993, and NBC, already airing the Summer Olympics, took over the broadcasts. Winter Olympics, beginning with the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics.

Still, CBS was able to produce a few hits, such as Cosby, The Nanny and Everybody Loves Raymond, and would recapture the NFL (taking charge of NBC's AFC package) in 1998.

2002-present: Return to top position, rivalry with Fox

Another pivotal moment for CBS came in the summer of 2000 when the reality shows Survivor and Big Brother debuted, both surprise hits for the network. In January 2001, CBS premiered the second season of the show after its Super Bowl telecast, rescheduling it for Thursday nights at 8:00 p.m. ET, and moving the police procedural drama CSI (which had debuted that fall on Friday nights) to Thursday nights at 9:00 p.m. ET, and was able to topple and ultimately defeat NBC's Thursday night lineup., and attract younger viewers to the network.

CBS has had additional successes with the police procedural dramas Cold Case, Without a Trace, Criminal Minds, NCIS , and The Mentalist, along with the sitcoms Everybody Loves Raymond, The King of Queens, Mike &; Molly, Two and a Half Men, How I Met Your Mother, The Big Bang Theory, The New Adventures of Old Christine, and 2 Broke Girls.

During the 2007-2008 season, Fox had the highest Nielsen ratings of any television network, primarily due to its reliance on American Idol. However, CBS has finished as the top-rated network every season since. The two networks tend to be about equal to each other in the 18–34, 18–49, and 25–54 demographics, though Fox typically wins. these by the narrowest margin.

Conglomerate

During the 1960s, CBS began an effort to diversify, and sought suitable investments. In 1965, he acquired the electric guitar maker Fender from Leo Fender, who agreed to sell his company due to problems with his health. The purchase also included the Rhodes piano, which had already been acquired by Fender. This and other acquisitions led to a restructuring of the corporation into various operating groups and divisions; the quality of the products manufactured by these acquired companies was extremely inferior; therefore, the term "pre-CBS" referred to higher quality products, and the term "CBS" referred to products of lower quality.

In other attempts at diversification, CBS would buy (and later sell) sports teams (especially the New York Yankees baseball club), book and magazine publishers (including Fawcett Publications and Holt, Rinehart & Winston), mapping companies, toy manufacturers (Gabriel Toys, Child Guidance, Wonder Products), and other properties.

As William Paley aged, he tried to find the one person who could follow in his footsteps. However, numerous honorary successors came and went. In the mid-1980s, investor Laurence Tisch had begun acquiring substantial holdings in CBS. He eventually won Paley's confidence, and with his encouragement, assumed control of CBS in 1986.

Tisch's only interest was turning CBS's profits. As CBS faltered, underperforming units were shut down. Among the first properties to be closed was the Columbia Records group, which had been a part of the company since 1938. In 1986, Tisch also closed CBS Laboratories in Stamford, which had started in New York City in the 1930s.

Columbia Records

Columbia Records was a record label that had been owned by CBS since 1938. In 1962, CBS launched CBS Records to market Columbia recordings outside of North America, where the Columbia name was controlled by others. In 1966, CBS Records was turned into a separate subsidiary of Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc. CBS sold the CBS Records Group to Japanese conglomerate Sony in 1988, igniting a buying spree by Japanese American companies (Music Corporation of America, Pebble Beach Company, Rockefeller Center, Empire State Building, et al.) that continued into the 1990s. The record label company was renamed Sony Music Entertainment in 1991, because Sony had a short-term license in the name of CBS.

Sony purchased from EMI its rights to the Columbia Records name outside the United States, Canada, Spain, and Japan. Sony now uses Columbia Records as a label name in all countries except Japan, where Sony Records maintains its primary label. Sony acquired the rights in Spain when Sony Music merged with BMG, a subsidiary of Bertelsmann, in 2004, with the new Sony brand BMG, co-owned by Sony and Bertelsmann. Sony bought BMG's share in 2008.

CBS Corporation revived CBS Records in 2006.

Post

CBS entered the publishing business in 1967 by acquiring Holt, Rinehart & Winston, who published trade books, textbooks, and Field & Stream. The next year, CBS added Saunders medical editorial to Holt, Rinehart & Winston. In 1971, CBS acquired Bond/Parkhurst, the publisher of Road & Track and Cycle World.

CBS greatly expanded its magazine business by purchasing Fawcett Publications in 1974, bringing such magazines as Woman's Day. He acquired most of Ziff Davis's publications in 1984.

CBS sold its book publishing business in 1985. The educational publishing division, which retained the name Holt, Rinehart & Winston, was sold to Harcourt Brace Jovanovich; the trade book division, renamed Henry Holt and Company, was sold to the Holtzbrinck Publishing Group, a publisher in West Germany.

CBS exited the magazine company by selling the unit to its executive, Peter Diamandis. Diamandis sold the magazines to Hachette Filipacchi Médias in 1988, forming Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S.

CBS Musical Instruments Division

Forming the CBS Musical Instruments division, the company also acquired piano maker Steinway & Sons, the flute maker Gemeinhardt, the harp maker Lyon & Healy, institutional organ maker Rogers Instruments, home organ maker Gulbransen, and other companies.

Between 1965 and 1985 the quality of Fender guitars and amplifiers declined significantly. Encouraged by outraged Fender fans, executives from the CBS Musical Instruments division executed a leveraged buyout in 1985 and created the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation (FMIC). At the same time, CBS divested Rodgers, Steinway, and Gemeinhardt, all purchased by Steinway Musical Properties. The other musical instrument properties were also liquidated.

Film production

CBS made a brief, unsuccessful move into film production in the mid-1960s, creating Cinema Center Films. This profitless unit was shut down in 1973; rights to the Cinema Center library now remain with Paramount Pictures for home video (through CBS Home Entertainment) and theatrical release, and with CBS Paramount Television for television syndication (most other ancillary rights remain with CBS). He released such films as The Reivers (1969), starring Steve McQueen, and the musical Scrooge (1970), starring Albert Finney.

Ten years later, however, in 1982, CBS made another attempt to release a Hollywood movie, in a joint venture with Columbia Pictures and HBO, called TriStar Pictures. Despite releasing such blockbusters as The Natural, Places in the Heart, and Rambo: First Blood Part II, CBS felt that the studio was not turning a profit, and in 1985, it sold its interest in TriStar to The Coca-Cola Company, the owner of Columbia Pictures at the time.

In 2007, CBS Corporation announced its desire to return to the feature film business slowly, launching CBS Films and hiring senior executives in the spring of 2008 to start the new company. The name CBS Films was actually used once before, in 1953, when the name was briefly used for CBS's distributor of syndicated programming to local television stations in the United States and abroad.

Home Video

CBS entered the home video market when it merged with MGM to form MGM/CBS Home Video in 1978, but the joint venture was closed in 1982. CBS merged another studio, 20th Century Fox, to form CBS/Fox Video. CBS's duty was to release one of TriStar Pictures' movies under the CBS/Fox Video label.

Gabriel Toys

CBS entered the video game market briefly, through its acquisition of Gabriel Toys (later renamed CBS Toys), publishing adaptations of various CBS television series for the arcade and various consoles and computers, and also producing some one of the first karaoke recorders. CBS later sold Gabriel Toys to View-Master, which eventually ended up as part of Mattel.

UK Adventure

On September 14, 2009, it was revealed that CBS's international arm, CBS Studios International, had entered into a joint venture agreement with Chellomedia to launch six CBS-branded channels in the UK during 2009. The channels The new ones would replace Zone Romantica, Zone Thriller, Zone Horror, and Zone Reality, as well as the timeshift services Zone Horror +1 and Zone Reality +1. On October 1, 2009, it was announced that CBS Reality, CBS Reality +1, CBS Drama, and CBS Action would launch on November 16, 2009, replacing Zone Reality, Zone Reality +1, Zone Romantica, and Zone Thriller, respectively. On April 5, 2010, Zone Horror and Zone Horror +1 were relaunched. with the respective brands Horror Channel and Horror Channel +1.

New Owners

By the early 1990s, CBS's profits had fallen as a result of competition from cable companies, video rentals, and the high cost of programming. In the mid-1990s, about 20 former CBS affiliates switched affiliations, joining the rapidly growing Fox network, while many television markets across the country (for example, KDFX-CA in Palm Springs, California and KECY-TV in Yuma, Arizona) lost their CBS affiliates for a while. CBS's ratings were acceptable, but the network struggled with a heavy-handed image. Laurence Tisch lost interest and looked for a new buyer.

Westinghouse Electric Corporation

CBS is the owner of Ed Sullivan Theater in Manhattan, and uses it to record its broadcasts The Late Show with David Letterman.

In 1995, Westinghouse Electric Corporation acquired CBS for $5.4 billion. As one of the largest owners of commercial broadcast stations (such as Group W) since the 1920s, Westinghouse bought CBS to make its transition from a station operator to a larger media company.

Westinghouse's acquisition of CBS had the effect of sharply turning the combined company's radio stations in New York (WCBS and WINS) and Los Angeles (KNX and KFWB) from bitter rivals to sister stations.

In 1997, Westinghouse acquired Infinity Broadcasting Corporation, the owner of more than 150 radio stations, for $4.9 billion. Also in the same year, Westinghouse began the CBS Cable division by acquiring two existing cable channels (The Nashville Network and Country Music Television) and starting a new channel (CBS Eye on People).

After the Infinity purchase, responsibility for the operations and sales of CBS Radio was turned over to Infinity, which turned management over to Westwood One, a company formerly managed by Infinity. WWO is a major syndicator of radio programming that had previously purchased the Mutual Broadcasting System, the NBC radio networks, and the rights to use the name "NBC Radio Networks". For a time, CBS Radio, NBC Radio Networks, and the CNN radio news services were all owned by WWO.

As of 2008, Westwood One continues to distribute CBS radio programming, but as a self-managed company that was put up for sale, and purchased for a significant amount of its share.

In 1997, Westinghouse changed its name to CBS Corporation, moving its corporate headquarters from Pittsburgh to New York. By the end of 1999, all elements of Westinghouse's industrial past before its acquisition by CBS had disappeared.

Viacom

By the 1990s, CBS had become a television broadcasting giant, but in 1999 the entertainment conglomerate Viacom—which ironically was created by CBS in 1952 as CBS Films, Inc. to syndicate old CBS series, and spun off under the new name Viacom in 1971—announced it was taking over its former parent in a deal valued at $37 billion. After the completion of this effort in 2000, Viacom was ranked the second largest entertainment company in the world.

CBS Corporation and CBS Studios

Having assembled all the elements of a communications empire, Viacom found that the proposed synergy was not there, and at the end of 2005, it split itself into two companies. CBS became the center of a new company, CBS Corporation, which included the broadcasting elements, the production operations of Paramount Television (renamed CBS Television Studios), the United Paramount Network (later merged with the WB Television Network to form The CW Network), advertising for Viacom Outdoor (renamed CBS Outdoor), Showtime Networks, Simon & Schuster, and Paramount Parks, which the company sold in May 2006. It is the legal successor to the old Viacom business.

The second company, keeping the Viacom name, held Paramount Pictures, MTV Networks, BET, and until May 2007, Famous Music, which was sold to Sony/ATV Music Publishing.

As a result of the aforementioned corporate split, as well as other acquisitions over recent years, CBS (under the CBS Studios moniker) is the owner of a massive catalog of movies and television series that spans nine decades. This catalog includes not only material purchased from internal Viacom productions and CBS shows, but also shows originally aired on competing networks.

Both CBS Corporation and the new Viacom venture are still owned by National Amusements, a company housed by Sumner Redstone. Therefore, Paramount Home Entertainment continues to handle distribution for the CBS library.

Coverage and availability

In 2003, ACNielsen estimated that CBS could be viewed in 96.98% of US households, reaching 103,421,270 US households. CBS has 204 affiliated VHF and UHF stations in the United States and its possessions. CBS is also carried on cable television throughout Canada, via its affiliates, as well as in Bermuda, via its local affiliate, ZBM-TV.

Logos and slogans

Current CBS Logo, which resembles an eye. Known in English as "The CBS Eye" or "The Eyemark", this logo has been used since 1951.

CBS introduced its popular logo, the "Eye Device," on October 20, 1951. Prior to this, from the 1940s to 1951, CBS used an auxiliary beacon bearing the block letters C-B-S. The "Eye Device" it was conceived by William Golden, based on a Pennsylvania Dutch hexagonal sign as well as a drawing by the Shakers. (While it is commonly attributed to Golden, there is speculation that some work on the symbol's design may have been done by Georg Olden, another designer on CBS's staff, who was one of the first African-Americans to attract some attention in the graphics layout field.) The "Eye Device" made its broadcast debut on October 20, 1951. The following season, as Golden crafted a new identity, CBS president Frank Stanton insisted on keeping the "Eye Device" and use it as much as possible. (Golden passed away unexpectedly in 1959, and was succeeded by one of his top assistants, Lou Dorfsman, who would go on to oversee all graphics at CBS for the next thirty years.)

An example of the distinction between CBS television and radio networks can be seen in a video from The Jack Benny Program dating to 1953; the video seems to be converted from kinescope, without editing. You watch the show almost practically as they would have been seen live on CBS. Don Wilson is the show's announcer, but also lends his voice to a promo for Private Secretary, which starred Ann Sothern and alternated weekly with Jack Benny on CBS's schedule. Benny continued to appear on the CBS television and radio networks at this time, and Wilson makes a late-broadcast promotional announcement for Benny's radio show on the CBS Radio Network. The program closes with a slide from the CBS Television Network, featuring the "CBS Eye" above a field of clouds, with the words "CBS Television Network" superimposed on the eye. It is not clear if he was simply absent from the recording, or even if it was originally broadcast at all.

The "CBS Eye" is now an icon in the United States. While the symbol settings have changed, the "Eye Device" it has not been redesigned in its entire history. In the chain's new graphic identity, created by Trollbäck + Company in 2006, the "Eye" is being placed in a "marked" in program titles, days of the week, and descriptive works, in an approach that highly respects the value of the "Eye". The "Eye" it has frequently been copied or borrowed by television networks throughout the world, with notable examples being Österreichischer Rundfunk in Austria (which previously used a red version of the logo), Associated Television in the UK, Channel 4 in El Salvador, Televisa in Mexico, Frecuencia Latina in Peru, Nippon Television in Japan, and Rede Bandeirantes and Rede Globo in Brazil. The logo is alternatively known as 'The Eyemark', which was also the name of CBS's domestic and international syndication divisions in the mid-to-late 1990s.

1980s

Over the years, CBS has run several notable image campaigns, and some of the network's best-known slogans date back to the 1980s. A 1981 campaign, called "Reach for the Stars& #34;, used a space theme to capitalize on CBS's stellar ratings boost and to commemorate the launch of the Columbia space shuttle. In 1982, "Great Moments" juxtaposed scenes from classic CBS shows such as I Love Lucy with scenes from then-current hits such as Dallas and M*A*S* H. From 1983 to 1986, CBS (now firmly ahead of the ratings) ran a campaign based on the slogan 'We've Got the Touch'. Voices for the campaign theme were contributed by Richie Havens, and later by Kenny Rogers. The 1986-1987 programming season marked the beginning of the 'Share in the Spirit of CBS' campaign, the network's first campaign to use infographics and digital video. Unlike most other network television promotions, the full version of "Share the Spirit" showed a brief preview of each new series, followed by a map of all of each night's prime time. The success of that campaign led to the "CBS Spirit" in the 1987-1988 season. Most of the promos in that campaign used a procession of show clips once again. However, the new graphic motif was a swirling blue line, which was used to represent 'the spirit'.

CBS Logo, coined in 1966. It now works as a secondary logo.

For the 1988-1989 season, CBS unveiled its new image campaign, officially known as "Television You Can Feel" but more commonly identified as "You Can Feel It On CBS". The goal was to communicate a more sensual image through stylish infographics and calming music, with images and clips of emotionally powerful scenes and characters playing in the background. However, this was the season in which CBS's ratings began to drop the most in the network's history. CBS ended the decade with "Get Ready for CBS," a highly ambitious campaign that attempted to elevate CBS out of last place (among the major networks); the motif featured the network's stars interacting with one another on a remote set in the studio, preparing for photo shoots and recordings, as well as the new season of CBS television. The promotional song and campaign practices saw many variations across the country because all CBS affiliates participated in it, as per a mandate from the network. Also, for the first time in its history, CBS became the first broadcast network to partner with a national retailer to drive audience growth with the CBS/Kmart Get Ready Giveaway.

1990s

For the 1990-1991 season, the campaign featured a theme song—The Temptations offered an altered version of their hit "Get Ready". In the early 1990s, CBS used less memorable campaigns, with simplified slogans like "This is CBS" (1992) and "You're On CBS" (nineteen ninety five). Finally, the publicity department gained momentum again late in the decade with Welcome Home to a CBS Night (1996-1997), shortened to Welcome Home (1997-1999).) and achieved by a spin-off of the campaign, The Address is CBS (1999-2000).

2000s

CBS Logo (2007-2010).

Throughout the first decade of the XXI century, CBS's ratings resurgence was supported by its "It's All Here" campaign, and its strategy led, in 2005, to its proclamation as "America's Most Watched Network". Its most recent campaign, introduced in 2006, proclaims "We Are CBS" Voiced by Don LaFontaine. As of 2009, the network has changed its campaign to 'Only CBS', in which the network proclaims one of its exclusive qualities. In 2011, CBS has returned to the use of 'America's Most Watched Network'.

2010s

In October 2011, CBS celebrated the 60th anniversary of its use of the "Eyemark" after using as a logo a simple text that read "CBS" between the 1920s and 1950s.

Programming

News

The CBS television and radio network has a news division, called CBS News, which is currently managed by Sean McManus.

This division's flagship program is CBS Evening News, introduced in 1948, which generally airs daily at 6:30 p.m., after local newscasts, and comes in two distinct editions: the weekdays (currently hosted by Scott Pelley), and the Saturday-Sunday edition (currently hosted by Russ Mitchell). On September 5, 2006, the newscast made history when Katie Couric, the previous co-anchor of the morning show Today on NBC, replaced Bob Schieffer as anchor, becoming the first female anchor of a newscast. television.

Other programs produced by this division have included the following:

Sports

Other successful programs

CBS has hosted a wide variety of programs throughout its history on television, including:

International broadcasts

The CBS Building, located in New York City.

CBS shows are shown outside the United States. For example, CBS News is shown a few hours per day on the OSN News satellite channel in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. The CBS Evening News is shown in the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and Italy on Sky News, despite the fact that Sky is part of News Corporation (the owner of Fox News Channel).

In the UK, CBS took over six Chello Zone channels in 2009. These were the first foreign channels to carry the CBS brand. The channels are called CBS Action, CBS Drama, and CBS Reality, while CBS Reality also has a timeshift channel. Other channels included in the agreement are The Horror Channel and its timeshift channel.

In Australia, Network Ten has an exit agreement with CBS Paramount, giving it the rights to carry the shows Jericho, Dr. Phil, The Late Show with David Letterman, NCIS, Numb3rs, and 60 Minutes.

There is a CBS affiliate in Bermuda—ZBM-TV, which is owned by the Bermuda Broadcasting Company.

In Canada, CBS, like all of the major US television networks, is carried in the basic program package for all cable and satellite providers. Emissions are displayed in almost exactly the same way in both Canada and the United States. However, CBS programming on the Canadian cable and satellite systems is subject to the practice of simulcasting, in which a signal from a Canadian station is placed on top of the CBS signal, if the programming at that time it's the same. Also, many Canadians live close enough to a major US city to pick up the broadcast signal from a US CBS affiliate with an antenna.

In Hong Kong, The CBS Evening News is broadcast live in the early morning, and local networks have an agreement to rebroadcast sections 12 hours later to fill local news programs when they have insufficient content to comunicate.

The CBS Evening News is seen in the Philippines via satellite on Q-TV (a sister network to the GMA Network) while CBS This Morning is seen in that country on the Lifestyle Network. Studio 23 and Maxx, two channels owned by broadcaster ABS-CBN in the Philippines, broadcast The Late Show with David Letterman.

In India, Reliance Broadcast Network, Ltd. is licensed by CBS to use its brand on three CBS-branded channels, named Big CBS Prime, Big CBS Spark, and Big CBS Love.

Disputes

In 1995, CBS denied airing a segment on 60 Minutes that would have featured an interview with a former president of research and development for Brown & Williamson, the third largest tobacco company in the nation. The controversy raised questions about legal roles in decision-making and whether journalistic standards should be compromised despite legal pressure and threats. However, the decision sent shock waves throughout the television industry, the journalism community, and the United States. This incident was the basis for the 1999 film The Insider, by Michael Mann.

In 2001, Bernard Goldberg, who was a reporter for CBS for 28 years, published his book, Bias: A CBS Insider Exposes How the Media Distort the News. This book heavily criticized the media, and some CBS reporters and anchors in particular, such as Dan Rather. Goldberg accused CBS of having a liberal bias in most of its news.

In 2004, the Federal Communications Commission fined CBS $550,000 for its broadcast of the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show (produced by MTV, then a CBS sister unit) in which the chest of singer Janet Jackson was briefly exposed, in violation of federal decency laws. After the incident, CBS apologized to its viewers and denied any knowledge of the event, which was broadcast live. In 2008, a federal court in Philadelphia struck down the fine imposed on CBS, labeling it "arbitrary and capricious."

CBS aired a controversial episode of 60 Minutes that questioned whether President George W. Bush served in the United States National Guard. After allegations of forgery, CBS News admitted that the documents used in the story would not have been properly authenticated. The following January, CBS fired four people connected to the preparation of the news segment. A former news anchor at the network, Dan Rather, filed a $70 million lawsuit against CBS in 2007, contending that the story, and their termination, they were mishandled. Parts of the lawsuit were dismissed in 2008, and the remainder of the lawsuit was dismissed in 2010, with their motion to appeal denied.

In 2007, a retired US Army Major General, John Batiste, appeared in a political ad for VoteVets.org that was critical of President Bush and the war in Iraq. Two days later, CBS stated that Batiste's appearance in that ad violated his contract with the network, and the deal was terminated.