CBS Broadcasting Inc. (
CBS) is an American
television networkA television network is a distribution network for television content whereby a central operation provides programming for many television stations. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small number of broadcast networks. Many early...
, one of television's original "big three", which also include
NBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices in Burbank,California...
and
ABCThe American Broadcasting Company is an American television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. It first broadcast on television in 1948...
. Like NBC, CBS started out as a
radio networkA radio network is a network system which distributes programming to multiple stations simultaneously, or slightly delayed, for the purpose of extending total coverage beyond the limits of a single broadcast signal. The resulting expanded audience for programming essentially applies the benefits of...
. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name,
Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the
Eye Network or more simply
The Eye, in reference to the shape of the company's logo. It has also been called the
Tiffany Network, which alludes to the perceived high quality of CBS programming during the tenure of its founder
William S. PaleyWilliam Samuel Paley , the chief executive who built Columbia Broadcasting System from a small radio network into one of the foremost radio and television network operations in the United States....
(1927–1990).
It can also refer to some of CBS's first demonstrations of
color televisionColor television refers to the technology and practices associated with television's transmission of moving images in color.In its most basic form, a color broadcast can be created by broadcasting three monochrome images, one each in the three colors of red, green and blue...
, which were held in a former
Tiffany & Co.Tiffany & Co. is a U.S. jewelry and silverware company founded by Charles Lewis Tiffany and Teddy Young in New York City in 1837 as a "stationery and fancy goods emporium."...
building in New York City in 1950, thus earning it the name "Color broadcasting system" back when such a feat was innovative.
The network has its origins in United Independent Broadcasters Inc., a collection of 16 radio stations that was bought by
William S. PaleyWilliam Samuel Paley , the chief executive who built Columbia Broadcasting System from a small radio network into one of the foremost radio and television network operations in the United States....
in 1928 and renamed the Columbia Broadcasting System. Under Paley's guidance, CBS would first become one of the largest radio networks in the United States and then one of the big three American broadcast television networks. In 1974, CBS dropped its full name and became known simply as
CBS, Inc. The Westinghouse Electric Corporation acquired the network in 1995 and eventually adopted the name of the company it had bought to become
CBS Corporation. In 2000, CBS came under the control of
ViacomViacom , short for "Video & Audio Communications", is an American media conglomerate with various worldwide interests in cable and satellite television networks , and movie production and distribution with Paramount Motion Pictures Group. Paramount is also the distributor of movie studio DreamWorks...
, which coincidentally had begun as a spin-off of CBS in 1971. In late 2005, Viacom split itself and reestablished
CBS CorporationCBS Corporation is an American media conglomerate focused on broadcasting, publishing, billboards, and television production, with most of its operations in the United States. The President and CEO of the company is Leslie Moonves. Sumner Redstone, owner of National Amusements, is CBS's majority...
with the CBS television network at its core. CBS Corporation and the new Viacom are controlled by
Sumner RedstoneSumner Murray Redstone is majority owner and Chairman of the Board of the National Amusements theater chain...
through
National AmusementsNational Amusements, Inc. is a privately owned media and entertainment company based in Dedham, Massachusetts, USA. The company was founded in 1936 as the Northeast Theatre Corporation by Michael Redstone....
, the parent of the two companies.
Early years
The origins of CBS date back to the creation, on January 21, 1927 in Chicago, of the "United Independent Broadcasters" network. Established by New York talent agent
Arthur JudsonArthur Leon Judson was an artists' manager who also managed the New York Philharmonic and Philadelphia Orchestra. He was born in Dayton, Ohio February 17, 1881 and died in Rye, New York January 28, 1975.-Early life:...
, United soon looked for additional investors; the Columbia Phonographic Manufacturing Company (also owners of
Columbia RecordsColumbia Records is an American record label founded in 1888.Columbia is the oldest surviving brand name in pre-recorded sound, being the first record company to produce pre-recorded records as opposed to blank cylinders. Columbia Records went on to release records by an array of notable singers,...
), rescued the company in April 1927, and as a result, the network was renamed "Columbia Phonographic Broadcasting System." Columbia Phonographic went on the air on September 18, 1927, from flagship station WOR in Newark, New Jersey, and 15 affiliates.
Unable to sell enough air time to advertisers, on September 25, 1927, Columbia sold the network for $500,000 to
William S. PaleyWilliam Samuel Paley , the chief executive who built Columbia Broadcasting System from a small radio network into one of the foremost radio and television network operations in the United States....
, son of a Philadelphia cigar manufacturer. With Columbia Phonographic's removal, Paley streamlined the corporate name to "Columbia Broadcasting System". Paley believed in the power of radio advertising; his family's company had seen their "La Palina" cigar become a best-seller after young William convinced his elders to advertise it on Philadelphia station
WCAUWCAU, channel 10, is an owned-and-operated television station of the NBC Television Network, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. WCAU has its studios on the border between Philadelphia and Bala Cynwyd, and transmitter in the Roxborough neighborhood...
, one of Columbia's affiliates.
In November 1927, Columbia paid $410,000 to A.H. Grebe's Atlantic Broadcasting Company for a small Brooklyn station, WABC, which would become the network's
flagshipA flagship is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, a designation given on account of being either the largest, fastest, newest, most heavily armed or, for publicity purposes, the best known. In military terms, it is a ship used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships...
station. WABC was quickly upgraded, and the signal relocated to a stronger frequency, 860
kHzThe hertz is a unit of frequency. It is defined as the number of complete cycles per second. It is the basic unit of frequency in the International System of Units , and is used worldwide in both general-purpose and scientific contexts...
. (In 1946, WABC was re-named
WCBSWCBS , often referred to as "WCBS Newsradio 880" is a radio station in New York City. Owned by CBS Radio, the station broadcasts on a clear channel and is the flagship station of the CBS Radio Network...
; the station moved to a new frequency, 880 kHz, in the FCC's 1941 reassignment of stations.) It was where much of CBS's programming originated; other owned-and-operated stations were
KNXKNX is an all-news radio station in Los Angeles, California, USA. The station operates on a clear channel and is owned by CBS Radio...
Los AngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the municipality of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123.445 inhabitants...
,
KCBSKCBS is an all-news radio station in San Francisco, California, that is a key West Coast flagship radio station of the CBS Radio Network and Westwood One...
San Francisco (originally KQW),
WBBMWBBM, also known on-air as "Newsradio 780," is an all-news CBS radio station in Chicago, Illinois broadcasting on the AM dial at 780 kHz. It is owned by CBS along with WBBM-TV....
Chicago, WJSV
Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C. , formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States, founded on July 16, 1790...
(later WTOP, which moved to the FM dial in 2005; the AM facility today is WFED, also a secondary CBS affiliate), KMOX
St. LouisSt. Louis is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. With an estimated population of 354,361 in 2008, it is the principal municipality of Greater St. Louis, population 2,866,517, the largest urban area in Missouri and sixteenth largest in the United States...
, and WCCO Minneapolis. These remain the core affiliates of the
CBS Radio NetworkThe CBS Radio Network provides news, sports and other programming to more than 1,000 radio stations throughout the United States. The network is owned by the CBS Corporation, and operated by CBS Corporation's CBS Radio Inc...
today, with
WCBS still the flagship, and all except WTOP and WFED (both
Bonneville BroadcastingBonneville International Corporation, managed by Deseret Management Corporation, is a broadcasting company wholly owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...
properties) owned by CBS Radio.
Later in 1928, another investor,
Paramount PicturesParamount Pictures Corporation is a Worldwide American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood, California. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is the world's oldest existing American film studio; it is also the last...
(who ironically would eventually be co-owned with CBS, see below), bought Columbia stock, and for a time it was thought the network would be renamed "Paramount Radio". Any chance of further Paramount involvement ended with the
1929 stock market crashThe Wall Street Crash of 1929, also known as the Great Crash or the Stock Market Crash of 1929, was the most devastating stock market crash in the history of the United States, taking into consideration the full extent and duration of its fallout....
; the near-bankrupt studio sold its shares back to CBS in 1932.
As the third national network, CBS soon had more affiliates than either of
NBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices in Burbank,California...
's two, in part because of a more generous rate of payment to affiliates. NBC's owner and founder of RCA, David Sarnoff, believed in technology, so NBC's affiliates had the latest RCA equipment, and were often the best-established stations, or were on "clear channel" frequencies. Paley believed in the power of programming, and CBS quickly established itself as the home of many popular musical and comedy stars, among them
Bing CrosbyHarry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American popular singer and actor whose career stretched over more than half a century from 1926 until his death....
,
Al JolsonAl Jolson was an American singer, comedian, and actor. According to PBS, he is considered the "first openly Jewish man to become an entertainment star in America"...
,
George BurnsGeorge Burns , born Nathan Birnbaum, was an American comedian, actor, and writer.His career spanned vaudeville, film, radio, and television, with and without his wife, Gracie Allen. His arched eyebrow and cigar smoke punctuation became familiar trademarks for over three quarters of a century...
&
Gracie AllenGrace Ethel Cecile Rosalie Allen , better known as Gracie Allen, was an American comedienne who became internationally famous as the zany partner and comic foil of husband George Burns...
, and
Kate SmithKathryn Elizabeth "Kate" Smith was an American singer, best known for her rendition of Irving Berlin's "God Bless America"...
. In 1938, NBC and CBS each opened studios in Hollywood to attract movieland's top talent to their networks – NBC at Radio City on Sunset and Vine, CBS two blocks away at
Columbia SquareCBS Columbia Square, located at 6121 Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, was the home of CBS's Los Angeles radio and television operations from 1938 until 2007....
.
In the hard times of the early 1930s, CBS radio broadened its offerings; having refused an
APThe Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
franchise for news, Paley launched an independent news division, shaped in its first years by Paley's vice-president, former
The New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded in 1851 and published in New York City. The largest metropolitan newspaper in the United States, "The Gray Lady"—named for its staid appearance and style—is regarded as a national newspaper of record...
man Ed Klauber, and news director Paul White. Another early hire, in 1935, was
Edward R. MurrowEdward R. Murrow, KBE was an American broadcast journalist. He first came to prominence with a series of radio news broadcasts during World War II, which were followed by millions of listeners in the United States and Canada.Fellow journalists Eric Sevareid, Ed Bliss and Alex Kendrick considered...
, brought in as "Director of Talks." It was Murrow's reports, particularly during the dark days of the
London BlitzThe Blitz was the sustained bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941, in World War II. While the Blitz hit many towns and cities across the country, it began with the bombing of London for 57 consecutive nights...
, which contributed to CBS News' image for on-the-spot coverage. As European news chief and later head of the news division, Murrow assembled a team of reporters and editors that propelled CBS News to the forefront of the industry.
On October 30, 1938, CBS gained a taste of infamy when
Orson WellesGeorge Orson Welles was an American film director, writer, actor and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television, and radio. Welles was also an accomplished magician, starring in troop variety spectacles in the war years...
and the
Mercury TheatreThe Mercury Theatre was a theatre company founded in New York City in 1937 by Orson Welles and John Houseman. After a string of live theatrical productions, in 1938 the Mercury Theatre progressed into their best-known period as The Mercury Theatre on the Air, a radio series that included one of the...
broadcast an adaptation of
H. G. WellsHerbert George Wells was an English author, best known for his work in the science fiction genre. He was also a prolific writer in many genres, including contemporary novels, history, and social commentary....
'
The War of the WorldsThe War of the Worlds was an episode of the American radio drama anthology series Mercury Theatre on the Air. It was performed as a Halloween episode of the series on October 30, 1938 and aired over the Columbia Broadcasting System radio network. Directed and narrated by Orson Welles, the episode...
. Its unique format, a contemporary version of the story in the form of
faux news broadcasts, had many CBS listeners panicked into believing invaders from
MarsMars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after Mars, the Roman god of war. It is also referred to as the "Red Planet" because of its reddish appearance, due to iron oxide prevalent on its surface....
were actually devastating Grover's Mill, New Jersey, despite three disclaimers during the broadcast that it was a work of fiction. CBS would later revive the format for television in the 1990s for
Without Warning, which told the story of asteroids crashing to Earth, but the television format allowed for disclaimers to air at every commercial break, avoiding a replay of what happened in 1938.
Also in 1938, CBS bought
American Record CorporationThe American Record Corporation, often known as ARC Records or simply ARC, was a United States based record company. It resulted from the merger in July 1929 of Regal Records, Cameo Records, Banner Records, the US branch of Pathé Records and the Scranton Button Company, the parent company of...
, the parent of its former investor
Columbia RecordsColumbia Records is an American record label founded in 1888.Columbia is the oldest surviving brand name in pre-recorded sound, being the first record company to produce pre-recorded records as opposed to blank cylinders. Columbia Records went on to release records by an array of notable singers,...
.
Before the onset of
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, CBS recruited Edmund A. Chester from his position as Bureau Chief for Latin America at
Associated PressThe Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
to serve as Director of Latin American Relations and Director of Short Wave Broadcasts for the CBS radio network (1940). In this capacity, Mr. Chester coordinated the development of the Network of the Americas (La Cadena de las Americas) with the
Department of StateThe United States Department of State, often referred to as the State Department, is the Cabinet-level foreign affairs agency of the United States government, similar to foreign ministries, foreign offices, ministries of external relations, etc. in other countries...
, the
Office for Inter-American AffairsThe Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs was a United States agency promoting inter-American cooperation during the 1940s, especially in commercial and economic areas. It was established in 1940 as the Office of Inter-American Affairs .Nelson Rockefeller was named Coordinator of...
(as chaired by
Nelson RockefellerNelson Aldrich Rockefeller was the 41st Vice President of the United States, the 49th governor of New York, a philanthropist, and a businessman....
) and
Voice of AmericaVoice of America is the official external radio and television broadcasting service of the United States federal government. Its oversight entity is the Broadcasting Board of Governors . VOA provides a wide range of programming for broadcast on radio, TV and the Internet around the world in...
. This network provided vital news and cultural programming throughout South America and Central America during the crucial World War II era and fostered diplomatic relations between the United States of America and the less developed nations of the continent. It featured such popular radio broadcasts as
Viva AméricaViva América - was an American musical radio program which was broadcast live over the CBS radio network and to South America over the La Cadena de las Americas during the 1940s...
http://radiogoldindex.com/cgi-local/p2.cgi?ProgramName=Viva+America which showcased leading musical talent from both North and South America
accompanied by the CBS Pan American Orchestra under the musical direction of
Alfredo AntoniniAlfredo Antonini was a leading Italian/American symphony conductor and composer who was active on the international concert stage as well as on the CBS radio and television networks from the 1930s through the 1960s.-Biography:...
. The post war era also marked the beginning of CBS's dominance in the field of radio as well
As long as radio was the dominant advertising medium, CBS dominated broadcasting. All through the 1950s and 1960s, CBS programs were often the highest-rated. A much-publicized "talent raid" on NBC in the mid-1940s brought
Jack BennyJack Benny , born Benjamin Kubelsky, was an American comedian, vaudevillian, and actor for radio, television, and film...
,
Edgar BergenEdgar John Bergen was an American actor and radio performer, best known as a ventriloquist.-Early life:...
and
Amos 'n' AndyAmos 'n' Andy is a situation comedy based on stock sketch comedy characters but set in the African-American community, and popular in the United States from the 1920s through the 1950s. The show began as one of the first radio comedy serials, written and voiced by Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll...
into the CBS fold. Paley also was an innovator in creating original programming; since broadcasting's earliest days, time had been sold to advertising agencies in half- or full-hour blocks. The ad agencies, not the networks, would then create the program to fill the time, thus it was " 'The Johnson's Wax Program', with
Fibber McGee and MollyFibber McGee and Molly was a radio show that played a major role in determining the full form of what became classic, old-time radio. The series was a pinnacle of American popular culture from its 1935 premiere until its demise in 1959...
", or " 'The
PepsodentPepsodent is a brand of toothpaste with a wintergreen flavor. It was formerly owned by Unilever ....
Show', with
Bob HopeBob Hope, KBE, KCSG was an American comedian and actor who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in radio, television and movies. He was also noted for his work with the US Armed Forces and his numerous USO tours entertaining American military personnel...
." At Paley's urging, beginning in the mid-1940s, CBS began creating its own programs; among the long-running shows that came from this project were
You Are There (born as
CBS Was There),
My Favorite HusbandMy Favorite Husband is the name of an American radio program and network television series. The original radio show, co-starring Lucille Ball, was the initial basis for what evolved into the groundbreaking TV sitcom I Love Lucy. The series was based on the 1940 novel Mr. and Mrs...
(starring
Lucille BallLucille Désirée Ball was an American comedienne, film, television, stage and radio actress, model, film and television executive, and star of the sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show and Here's Lucy...
; the show proved a kind of blueprint for her big CBS television hit
I Love LucyI Love Lucy is an American television sitcom, starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance and William Frawley. The black-and-white series originally ran from October 15, 1951 to April 1, 1960 on CBS...
),
Our Miss BrooksOur Miss Brooks, an American situation comedy, starred Eve Arden as a sardonic high school English teacher. It began as a radio show broadcast on CBS from 1948 to 1957...
(whose star,
Eve ArdenEve Arden was an American actress. Her almost 60-year career crossed most media frontiers with supporting and leading roles, but she is perhaps best remembered for playing the sardonic but engaging high school teacher in the classic Our Miss Brooks , and as the Rydell High School principal in the...
, was encouraged personally by Paley to try out for the title role),
GunsmokeGunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West....
and
The Adventures of Ozzie and HarrietThe Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet is an American sitcom, airing on ABC from October 3, 1952 to September 3, 1966, starring the real life Nelson family. The series starred Ozzie Nelson and his wife, singer Harriet Nelson , and their young sons, David Nelson and Eric Nelson, better known as Ricky...
. In time this idea was carried further, selling ad time by the minute, so ad agencies no longer had complete control over what went out over "Paley's air".
CBS moved at a deliberate pace into
televisionTelevision is a widely used telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images, either monochromatic or color, usually accompanied by sound. "Television" may also refer specifically to a television set, television programming or television transmission...
; as late as 1950 it owned only one station;
radioRadio is the transmission of signals by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
continued to be the backbone of the company. Gradually, as the television network took shape, big radio stars began to drift to television. The radio
soap operaA soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on television or radio. The name "soap opera" stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers such as Procter & Gamble,...
The Guiding LightGuiding Light is an American daytime television drama and is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as being the longest-running soap opera in production and the longest running drama in television and radio history...
moved to television in 1952 and aired until September 18, 2009; Burns & Allen made the move in 1950; Lucille Ball a year later;
Our Miss Brooks in 1952 (though it continued simultaneously on radio for its full television life). The high-rated
Jack BennyJack Benny , born Benjamin Kubelsky, was an American comedian, vaudevillian, and actor for radio, television, and film...
radio show ended in 1955, and Edgar Bergen's Sunday-night show went off the air 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 lie. When the soap opera
Ma PerkinsMa Perkins was a radio soap opera which was heard on NBC from 1933 to 1949 and on CBS from 1942 to 1960. Between 1942 and 1949, the show was heard simultaneously on both networks. Oxydol dropped its sponsorship in 1956.The series was produced by Frank and Anne Hummert with scripts by Robert Hardy...
went off the air November 25, 1960 only eight, relatively minor series remained. Prime-time radio ended on September 30, 1962, when the legendary
SuspenseSuspense was a radio drama series broadcast on CBS from 1942 through 1962.One of the premier drama programs of the Golden Age of Radio, was subtitled "radio's outstanding theater of thrills," and focused on suspense thriller-type scripts, usually featuring leading Hollywood actors of the era...
aired for the final time.
After the retirement of talk-show pioneer
Arthur GodfreyArthur Morton Leo Godfrey was an American radio and television broadcaster and entertainer who was sometimes introduced by his nickname, The Old Redhead...
in 1972, CBS radio programming consisted of hourly news broadcast and an extensive schedule of news features, known in the 1970s as Dimension, and commentaries, including the well received Spectrum series of commentaries which evolved into the Point/Counterpoint feature on the television network's 60 Minutes and First Line Report, a well-regarded news and analysis feature delivered by CBS correspondents and offered to the CBS radio stations. The network also continued to offer traditional radio programming through its nightly "CBS Mystery Theater", the lone holdout of old-style programming. The
CBS Radio NetworkThe CBS Radio Network provides news, sports and other programming to more than 1,000 radio stations throughout the United States. The network is owned by the CBS Corporation, and operated by CBS Corporation's CBS Radio Inc...
continues to this day, but offers primarily its well-regarded newscasts, including its centerpiece World News Roundup in the morning and evening and news-related features like "The Osgood File" and "
Harry SmithHarry Smith is an American television personality, currently co-anchor for the CBS News morning show The Early Show and the host of A&E's Biography series....
Reporting" as well as other talk properties.
The television years: expansion and growth
CBS's first television broadcasts were experimental, often only for one hour a day, and reaching a limited area in and around New York City (over station W2XAB channel 2, later called WCBW and finally WCBS-TV). To catch up with rival RCA, CBS bought Hytron Laboratories in 1939, and immediately moved into set production and color broadcasting. Though there were many competing patents and systems, RCA dictated the content of the
FCC'sThe Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, directed, and empowered by Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President...
technical standards, and grabbed the spotlight from CBS,
DuMontThe DuMont Television Network, also known as the DuMont Network, DuMont, Du Mont, or Dumont was one of the world's pioneer commercial television networks, rivalling NBC for the distinction of being first overall. It began operation in the United States in 1946. It was owned by DuMont...
and others by introducing television to the general public at the
1939 New York World's Fair1939 World's Fair redirects here. The term can also refer to the Golden Gate International Exposition, which was held in San Francisco/Oakland at the same time as the New York fair....
. The FCC began licensing commercial television stations on July 1, 1941; the first license went to RCA and NBC's WNBT (now
WNBCWNBC is the flagship station of the NBC television network, located in New York City and owned and operated by NBC Universal. WNBC's studios are co-located with NBC corporate headquarters at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in midtown Manhattan...
); the second license, issued that same day, was to WCBW, (now
WCBSWCBS-TV, channel 2, is the flagship station of the CBS television network, located in New York City and owned by CBS Corporation. The station's studios are located within the CBS Broadcast Center in midtown Manhattan and its transmitter is atop the Empire State Building...
). CBS-Hytron offered a practical color system in 1941, but it was not compatible with the black-and-white standards set down by RCA. In time, and after considerable dithering, the FCC rejected CBS's technology in favor of by RCA.
During the
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
years, commercial television broadcasting was reduced dramatically. Toward the end of the war, commercial television began to ramp up again, with an increased level of programming evident in the 1945–1947 period on the three New York television stations which operated in those years (the local stations of NBC, CBS and DuMont) But as RCA and DuMont raced to establish networks and offer upgraded programming, CBS lagged, advocating an industry-wide shift and re-start to UHF for their incompatible (with black and white) color system. Only in 1950, when NBC was dominant in television and black and white transmission was widespread, did CBS begin to buy or build their own stations (outside of New York) in Los Angeles, Chicago and other major cities. Up to that point, CBS programming was seen on such stations as KTTV Channel 11 in Los Angeles, which CBS—as a bit of insurance and to guarantee program clearance in Los Angeles—quickly purchased a 50% interest in. CBS then sold their interest in KTTV and purchased outright Los Angeles pioneer station KTSL (Channel 2) in 1950, renaming it KNXT (after CBS's existing Los Angeles radio property, KNX), later to become KCBS. The "talent raid" on NBC of the mid-forties had brought over established radio stars; they now became stars of CBS television as well. One reluctant CBS star refused to bring her radio show, "My Favorite Husband", to television unless the network would re-cast the show with her real-life husband in the lead. Paley and network president
Frank StantonFrank Nicholas Stanton was an American broadcasting executive who served as the president of CBS between 1946 and 1971 and then vice chairman until 1973. He also served as the chairman of the Rand Corporation from 1961 until 1967.Along with William S. Paley, Stanton is credited with the...
had so little faith in the future of
Lucille BallLucille Désirée Ball was an American comedienne, film, television, stage and radio actress, model, film and television executive, and star of the sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show and Here's Lucy...
's series, re-dubbed
I Love LucyI Love Lucy is an American television sitcom, starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance and William Frawley. The black-and-white series originally ran from October 15, 1951 to April 1, 1960 on CBS...
, that they granted her wish and allowed the husband,
Desi ArnazDesi Arnaz was a Cuban-American musician, actor and television producer. He gained international renown for leading a Latino music band, the Desi Arnaz Orchestra...
, to take financial control of the production. This was the making of the Ball-Arnaz
DesiluDesilu Productions was a Los Angeles, California-based company jointly owned by couple and TV actors Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball.Desilu Studios was home to I Love Lucy, and additionally, such hit television series as Star Trek, The Andy Griffith Show, Mission: Impossible, The Dick Van Dyke Show,...
empire, and became the template for series production to this day.
In the late 1940s, CBS offered the first live television coverage of the proceedings of the
United Nations General AssemblyFor two articles dealing with membership in the General Assembly, see:*General Assembly members*General Assembly observersThe United Nations General Assembly is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation...
(1949). This journalist tour-de-force was under the direction of Edmund A. Chester, who was appointed to the post of Director for News, Special Events and Sports at CBS Television in 1948.
As television came to the forefront of American entertainment and information, CBS dominated television as it once had radio. In 1953, the CBS television network would make its first profit, and would maintain dominance on television between the years 1955 and 1976 as well By the late 1950s, the network often controlled seven or eight of the slots on the "top ten" ratings list with well-respected shows like
Route 66Route 66 is an American TV series in which two young men traveled across America. The show ran weekly on CBS from 1960 to 1964. It starred Martin Milner as Tod Stiles and, for two and a half seasons, George Maharis as Buz Murdock. Maharis was ill for much of the third season, during which time Tod...
. This success would continue for many years, with CBS bumped from first place only by the rise of
ABCThe American Broadcasting Company is an American television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. It first broadcast on television in 1948...
in the mid-1970s. Perhaps because of its status as the top-rated network, during the late 1960s and early 1970s CBS felt freer to gamble with controversial properties like the
Smothers Brothers Comedy HourThe Smothers Brothers are an American music-and-comedy team, consisting of the brothers Tom and Dick Smothers. The brothers' trademark act was performing folk songs , which usually led to arguments between the siblings...
and
All in the FamilyAll in the Family is an American situation comedy that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971 to April 8, 1979. In September 1979, the show was revamped, and given a new title, Archie Bunker's Place...
and its many spinoffs during this period.
One of CBS's most critically acclaimed and popular shows at that time was
M*A*S*HM*A*S*H is an American television series developed by Larry Gelbart, adapted from the 1970 feature film MASH . The series is a medical drama/black comedy that was produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television for CBS...
, a
dramedyComedy-drama, also called dramedy or seriocomedy, is a style of television, theatre and film in which there is an equal or nearly equal balance of humor and serious content.-Theatre:...
based on the hit
Robert AltmanRobert Bernard Altman was an American film director known for making films that are highly naturalistic, but with a stylized perspective...
film. It ran from 1972-1983, and was set, like the
filmMASH is a American Academy Award-winning satirical dark comedy film directed by Robert Altman and written by Ring Lardner, Jr. based on the novel MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors by Richard Hooker...
, during the Korean War in a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital. The final episode aired on February 28, 1983 and was 2½ hours long. It was viewed by nearly 106 million Americans (77% of viewership that night) which established it as the most watched episode in United States television history, a record which still stands.
William Paley was a buyer of art, and a backer of New York's
Museum of Modern ArtThe Museum of Modern Art is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, USA, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been singularly important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the...
. CBS offices were filled with original works. Paley shared this interest with Frank Stanton (1908-2006), CBS President (1946–1971), who carried this belief over into the design elements surrounding the network. When CBS bought Los Angeles station KNX in 1936 for a west-coast production headquarters, Frank Stanton demanded that architect
William LescazeWilliam Edmond Lescaze was a Swiss-born American architect, and is one of the pioneers of modernism in American architecture....
be hired to create
Columbia SquareCBS Columbia Square, located at 6121 Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, was the home of CBS's Los Angeles radio and television operations from 1938 until 2007....
, a distinctive, modern broadcasting center on Sunset Boulevard. Similarly, when CBS commissioned
Eero SaarinenEero Saarinen was a Finnish American architect and product designer of the 20th century famous for varying his style according to the demands of the project : simple, sweeping, arching structural curves or machine-like rationalism.- Biography :Eero Saarinen, who was born in Hvitträsk,...
to design a new corporate center in New York in the 1960s, Stanton supervised every aspect of the project, even dictating what could be displayed in employee offices and on desktops. This belief in art, graphics and branding carried over to such things as the CBS Television's logo, the unblinking eye logo (designed by
William GoldenWilliam Golden is considered to be one of the pioneers of American graphic design. He is best known for his work at Columbia Broadcasting System, starting in the CBS Radio promotion department and culminating in his tenure as creative director of advertising and sales promotion for CBS Television...
and introduced in 1951). An example of CBS's graphic-design particularity: on all official CBS letterhead, a tiny dot (at most a
pointIn typography, a point is the smallest unit of measure, being a subdivision of the larger pica. It is commonly abbreviated as pt. The traditional printer's point, from the era of hot metal typesetting and presswork, varied between 0.18 and 0.4 mm depending on various definitions of the foot.Today,...
in diameter) was pre-printed to indicate to a secretary where the typewriter carriage should be positioned for the salutation of a letter. Golden's successor as Creative Director,
Lou DorfsmanLouis "Lou" Dorfsman was a graphic designer who oversaw almost every aspect of the advertising and corporate identity for the Columbia Broadcasting System in his forty years with the network.-Early life and education:...
, worked with Dr. Stanton to develop the CBS Inc. corporate look that survives to this day.
Color telecasts
Although CBS-TV was the first with a working color television system, they lost out to
RCARCA Corporation, founded as Radio Corporation of America, was an electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. Currently, the RCA trademark is owned by the French conglomerate Thomson SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Thomson...
in 1953, due in part because the CBS color system was incompatible with existing black-and-white sets. Although
RCARCA Corporation, founded as Radio Corporation of America, was an electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. Currently, the RCA trademark is owned by the French conglomerate Thomson SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Thomson...
(parent company of
NBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices in Burbank,California...
) made its color system available to CBS, the network was not interested in boosting
RCARCA Corporation, founded as Radio Corporation of America, was an electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. Currently, the RCA trademark is owned by the French conglomerate Thomson SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Thomson...
's profits and only televised a few specials in color for the rest of the decade. The specials included the
Ford Star JubileeFord Star Jubilee was a usually live, ninety minute, color anthology series that aired once a month on Saturday nights on CBS from September 1955 to November 1956, at 9:00 P.M., E.S.T...
programs (which included the first telecast ever of MGM's 1939 film classic
The Wizard of OzThe Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical / fantasy film directed mainly by Victor Fleming from a script by Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson, Edgar Allan Woolf, and others and based on the 1900 children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum...
). Other specials were also shown - the 1957 telecast of
Rodgers and HammersteinRichard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II were a well-known American songwriting duo, usually referred to as Rodgers and Hammerstein. They created a string of popular Broadway musicals in the 1940s and 1950s during what is considered the golden age of the medium...
's
Cinderella,
Cole Porter's musical version of AladdinAladdin was a 1958 musical comedy written especially for television with a book by S.J. Perelman and music and lyrics by Cole Porter, telecast in color on the DuPont Show of the Month by CBS. It was Porter's very last musical score. The musical was later presented on stage in London, premiering...
, and
Playhouse 90Playhouse 90 is a 90-minute dramatic television anthology series, telecast on CBS from 1956 to 1961 for a total of 133 episodes. Since live anthology drama series of the mid-1950s were hour-long shows, the title highlighted the network's intention to present something unusual, a weekly series of...
s only color broadcast, the 1958 production of The NutcrackerThe Nutcracker Op. 71, is a fairy tale-ballet in two acts, three scenes, by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, composed in 1891–92. Alexandre Dumas père's adaptation of the story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King" by E. T. A...
. Beginning in 1959, The Wizard of Oz
, now telecast as a family special in its own right (after the cancellation of Ford Star Jubilee
), became an annual tradition on color TV.
However, it was the success of NBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices in Burbank,California...
's 1955 telecast of the Mary MartinMary Virginia Martin was an American actress. She originated many roles over her career including Nellie Forbush in South Pacific and Maria in The Sound of Music. She was named a Kennedy Center Honoree in 1989....
Peter Pan
Peter Pan is a musical adaptation of J. M. Barrie's 1904 play Peter Pan and Barrie's own novelization of it, Peter and Wendy. The music is mostly by Mark "Moose" Charlap, with additional music by Jule Styne, and most of the lyrics were written by Carolyn Leigh, with additional lyrics by Betty...
, the most-watched television special of its time, that inspired CBS to telecast The Wizard of Oz
, Cinderella
and Aladdin
.
By the early 1960s, CBS-TV was void of transmitting anything in color—save for a few specials such as The Wizard of Oz, and only if the sponsor would pay for it.
Red SkeltonRed Skelton , born Richard Bernard Skelton, was an American comedian who was best known as a top radio and television star from 1937 to 1971...
was the first CBS host to telecast his weekly programs in color, using a converted movie studio, in the early 1960s; he tried unsuccessfully to persuade the network to use his facility for other programs, then was forced to sell it. Color was being pushed hard by rival
NBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices in Burbank,California...
. Even
ABCABC is the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's television station in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. The station began broadcasting on 18 December, 1962 and broadcasts from studios in Dickson and its main transmitter is at Black Mountain....
had several color programs in 1962. One famous CBS-TV special made during this era was the tour of the White House with First Lady Jackie Kennedy. It was, however, shown in black-and-white. This would all change by the mid-1960s, when market pressure forced CBS-TV to add color programs to the regular schedule for the 1965–66 season and completed the changeover during the 1966-67 season. By the fall of 1967, nearly all of CBS's TV programs were being shown in color, as they were on
NBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices in Burbank,California...
and
American Broadcasting CompanyThe American Broadcasting Company is an American television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. It first broadcast on television in 1948...
(ABC). A notable exception was
Twentieth CenturyThe Twentieth Century was a half-hour documentary television series broadcast over CBS-TV from 1957 until 1966. It was hosted and narrated by Walter Cronkite and telecast Sunday evenings...
, which consisted mostly of newsreel archival footage. However, even this program used at least some color footage by the late 1960s.
In 1965, months before its conversion to full-time color programming, CBS telecast a new color version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella
. This version, starring Lesley Ann WarrenLesley Ann Warren is an American actress and singer who has appeared in more than 60 movies including Victor Victoria, Clue, Burglar, Cop, Color of Night and Secretary...
and Stuart DamonStuart Damon is an American actor. He is known for thirty years of portraying the character Dr. Alan Quartermaine on the American soap opera General Hospital, for which he won an Emmy Award in 1999....
in the roles formerly played by Julie AndrewsDame Julie Elizabeth Andrews, DBE is a British film and stage actress, singer, and author. She is the recipient of Golden Globe, Emmy, Grammy, BAFTA, People's Choice Award, Theatre World Award, Screen Actors Guild and Academy Award honours...
and Jon CypherJon Cypher is an American actor.Born in New York City, Cypher graduated from Erasmus Hall High School in 1949 and Brooklyn College in 1953. He is particularly remembered as Chief of Police Fletcher Daniels in Hill Street Blues, a role he played throughout the lifetime of the series, 1981-1987...
, was shot on videotape rather than being telecast live , and would become an annual tradition for the next nine years.
In 1967, NBC temporarily acquired The Wizard of Oz
from CBS, due to CBS's reluctance to meet MGMMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc., or MGM, is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B...
's increased price for the rights to show their film. However, the network quickly realized their colossal mistake in allowing what was then one of its prime ratings winners to be acquired by another network, and by 1976, Oz
was back on CBS, where it remained until 1998.
1971–1986: The "Rural Purge" and (temporary) Fall From the Top
By the end of the 1960s, CBS was broadcasting virtually all of its schedule in color, but it was felt that many of its shows (including The Beverly HillbilliesThe Beverly Hillbillies is an American television sitcom. It ranked among the top 12 most watched series on television for seven of its nine seasons, twice ranking as the #1 series of the year, with a number of episodes that remain among the most-watched television episodes of all time...
, Mayberry R.F.D.Mayberry R.F.D. is a spin-off, or, perhaps more accurately, a direct continuation of The Andy Griffith Show under a new title, for the same sponsor, General Foods...
, Petticoat Junction Petticoat Junction is an American situation comedy produced by Filmways which originally aired on the CBS network from 1963 to 1970. The series is part of a triad of interrelated shows about rural characters created by Paul Henning, the other two being The Beverly Hillbillies and Green Acres.The...
, Hee HawHee Haw was a television variety show, initially co-hosted by musicians Buck Owens and Roy Clark and featuring country music and humor with fictional, rural "Kornfield Kounty" as a backdrop. It was taped at WLAC-TV and Opryland USA in Nashville...
and Green AcresGreen Acres is an American television series starring Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor as a couple who move from New York City to a farm in the country...
) were appealing more to older and more rural audiences and less to young, urban and more affluent audiences that advertisers sought to target. Fred SilvermanFred Silverman is an American television executive and producer. He worked as an executive at the CBS, ABC and NBC networks, and was responsible for bringing to television such programs as the series Scooby-Doo , All in the Family , The Waltons , and Charlie's Angels , as well as the...
(who would later head ABC, then NBC) made the decision to cancel most of those shows by mid-1971 in what became colloquially referred to as the "Rural purgeThe "rural purge" of American television networks was a series of cancellations in 1971, of still popular rural-themed shows and shows with demographically-skewed audiences...
," with Green Acres
star Pat Buttram Emmett Maxwell "Pat" Buttram was an American actor, best known for playing the sidekick of Gene Autry and the character of Mr. Haney in the TV series Green Acres. He had a distinctive voice which, in his own words, "... never quite made it through puberty...
remarking that the network cancelled "anything with a tree in it."
While the "rural" shows got the axe, new hits, like The Mary Tyler Moore ShowThe Mary Tyler Moore Show is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns that aired on CBS from September 19, 1970 to March 19, 1977...
, All in the FamilyAll in the Family is an American situation comedy that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971 to April 8, 1979. In September 1979, the show was revamped, and given a new title, Archie Bunker's Place...
, M*A*S*HM*A*S*H is an American television series developed by Larry Gelbart, adapted from the 1970 feature film MASH . The series is a medical drama/black comedy that was produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television for CBS...
, The Bob Newhart ShowThe Bob Newhart Show is the name of two different television series, both starring comedian Bob Newhart. The better-known is a situation comedy produced by MTM Enterprises, which aired on CBS from September 16, to April 1,...
, The WaltonsThe Waltons is an American television series created by Earl Hamner, Jr., based on his book Spencer's Mountain, and a 1963 film of the same name, starring Henry Fonda and Maureen O'Hara. The show centered on the titular family growing up in a rural Virginia community during the Great Depression and...
, CannonCannon is a detective series which ran on CBS from 1971 to 1976. The series was a Quinn Martin production, and featured many of the company's well-known stylistic quirks...
, Barnaby JonesBarnaby Jones is a television detective series starring Buddy Ebsen and Lee Meriwether as father and daughter-in-law, who are also both private investigators in Los Angeles, which ran on CBS from January 28, 1973 to April 3, 1980, as a midseason replacement, which bumped the long-running detective...
, KojakKojak is an American television series starring Telly Savalas as the eponymous, bald New York City Police Department Detective Lieutenant Theo Kojak. It aired from October 24, 1973 to March 18, 1978 on CBS. It took the time slot of the popular Cannon series, which was moved one hour earlier...
and The Sonny & Cher Comedy HourThe Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour was a variety show based on the married couple of American pop-singer Cher and her husband Sonny Bono. The show ran on CBS in the United States when it premiered in August 1971. The show was canceled May 1974 due to the couple's divorce.-The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour :In...
took their place and kept CBS at the top of the ratings through the early 70's. The majority of these hits were over-seen by then East Coast vice president Alan WagnerAlan Cyril Wagner was an American television executive, radio personality, writer, and opera historian and critic...
. Also, 60 Minutes60 Minutes is an American investigative television newsmagazine, which has run on CBS since 1968. The program was created by long time producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation. It has been among the top-rated TV programs for much of its life,...
moved to 7 p.m. ET on Sundays in 1976 and became an unexpected hit.
Fred Silverman also first used his talent for spinning off shows at CBS, with RhodaRhoda is an American television sitcom starring Valerie Harper. It was a spin-off from The Mary Tyler Moore Show and ran for five seasons between 1974-1978. Harper played the lead role of Rhoda Morgenstern, who was the spunky, weight conscious, flamboyantly-fashioned best friend of Mary Richards...
and PhyllisPhyllis is an American television sitcom and the second spin-off of The Mary Tyler Moore Show created by Ed Weinberger and Stan Daniels. The show starred Cloris Leachman as Phyllis Lindstrom, who was previously Mary Richards' landlady on The Mary Tyler Moore Show...
from The Mary Tyler Moore Show
, MaudeMaude is a half-hour American television sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS network from September 12, 1972 until April 22, 1978....
and The JeffersonsThe Jeffersons is an American sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from January 18, 1975, through June 25, 1985, lasting 11 seasons and a total of 253 episodes produced by T.AT. Communications Company from 1975-1982 and Embassy Television from 1982-1985...
from All in the Family
and Good TimesGood Times is an American sitcom that originally aired from February 8, 1974, until August 1, 1979, on the CBS television network. It was created by Eric Monte and Michael Evans and produced by Norman Lear...
from Maude
(ironically, he would later have to "save" Happy DaysHappy Days is an American television sitcom that originally aired from 1974 to 1984 on ABC. The show presents an idealized vision of life in mid 1950s to mid 1960s America....
from Good Times
, on assuming the presidency of ABC in 1975.)
After Silverman's departure, CBS dropped behind ABC in the 1976-77 season, but still rated strongly, based on its earlier hits and new long-running hits One Day at a TimeOne Day at a Time is an American situation comedy on the CBS network that aired from December 16, 1975 to May 28, 1984. It portrayed Ann Romano, a divorced mother, played by Bonnie Franklin, her two teenage daughters Julie and Barbara Cooper and Schneider, their building superintendent .The show...
, AliceAlice is an American sitcom television series which ran from August 31, 1976 to July 2, 1985 on CBS in the USA. The series was based on the 1974 film Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore. The show stars Linda Lavin in the title role, a widow who moves with her young son to start her life over again,...
, WKRP in CincinnatiWKRP in Cincinnati is an American situation comedy that featured the misadventures of the staff of a struggling fictional radio station in Cincinnati, Ohio. The show was created by Hugh Wilson and was based upon his experiences working in advertising as a client of a classic album-oriented rock...
, The Dukes of Hazzard
(somewhat harkening back to the "rural" days) and, the biggest hit of the early 80s, DallasDallas is an American prime-time television soap opera that originally ran from 1978 to 1991. It revolved around the Ewings, a wealthy Texas family in the oil and cattle-ranching industries...
.
By 1982 ABC had run out of steam and NBC was in dire straits with many failed programming efforts (which ironically were greenlighted by Silverman, who was NBC's president from 1978 to 1981), so CBS was again ruling the airwaves with Dallas
(and its spin-off Knots LandingKnots Landing is an American primetime television soap opera that was screened from December 27 1979 to May 13 1993 on CBS. Set in a fictitious coastal suburb of Los Angeles in California, the show centered on the lives of four married couples living in a cul-de-sac, Seaview Circle...
,) Falcon CrestFalcon Crest is an American primetime television soap opera which aired on the CBS network for nine seasons, from December 4, 1981 to May 17, 1990...
, Magnum, P.I.Magnum, P.I. is an American television show starring Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum, a private investigator living on Oahu, Hawaii. The series ran from 1980 to 1988 in first-run broadcast on the American CBS television network....
, Simon & SimonSimon & Simon is a 1980s detective television series starring Gerald McRaney and Jameson Parker.-History:The original 1978 pilot called Pirate's Key was set in Florida...
and 60 Minutes
, along with many of its long-running hits from the mid-70's. But, despite a few new hits (Kate & AllieKate & Allie is an American television situation comedy which ran from March 19, 1984 to May 22, 1989. Kate & Allie first aired on CBS as a midseason replacement series and only six episodes were initially commissioned, but the favorable response from critics and viewers alike easily convinced CBS...
, NewhartNewhart is a television situation comedy starring comedian Bob Newhart and actress Mary Frann as an author and his wife who owned and operated a historic inn located in a small, rural Vermont town that was populated by eccentric characters. The show aired on the CBS network from October 25, 1982 to...
, Crazy like a FoxCrazy Like a Fox is an American television series set in San Francisco, California, that aired on CBS from December 30, 1984 to May 3, 1986.-Overview:...
, Scarecrow and Mrs. KingScarecrow and Mrs. King is an American television series that aired from October 3, 1983, to May 28, 1987 on CBS. The show starred Kate Jackson and Bruce Boxleitner.-Synopsis:...
, Murder, She WroteMurder, She Wrote was an American television mystery series starring Angela Lansbury as mystery writer and amateur detective Jessica Fletcher. The series aired for twelve seasons from 1984 to 1996 on the CBS network. It was followed by four TV films and a spin-off series, The Law & Harry McGraw...
) the resurgence was short-lived.
1986–2002: Tiffany Network in distress
In 1984, The Cosby ShowThe Cosby Show is an American television situation comedy starring Bill Cosby, first airing on September 20, 1984 and running for eight seasons on the NBC television network, until April 30, 1992...
debuted on NBC and grabbed high ratings immediately, bringing that network back to first place by the 1985-1986 season. By the 1988-1989 season, CBS had fallen to third place behind both ABC and NBC, and had some major rebuilding to do.
Ironically, some of the groundwork was already laid, with hits Murder, She Wrote
, Kate & Allie
and Newhart
still on the schedule from the early 1980s, and future hits Designing WomenDesigning Women is an American television sitcom that centered around the working and personal lives of four Southern women and one man in an interior design firm in Atlanta, Georgia. It aired on the CBS Television network from September 29, 1986 until May 24, 1993...
and Murphy BrownMurphy Brown is an American situation comedy which aired on CBS from November 14, 1988 to May 18, 1998, for a total of 247 episodes. The program starred Candice Bergen as the eponymous Murphy Brown, an investigative journalist and news anchor for FYI, a fictional CBS television newsmagazine.The...
having recently debuted. Plus, CBS was still getting decent ratings from 60 Minutes
, Dallas
and Knots Landing
.
Under network president Jeff Sagansky, the network was able to get strong ratings from new shows Diagnosis MurderDiagnosis Murder is a mystery/medical/crime drama television series starring Dick Van Dyke as Dr. Mark Sloan, a medical doctor who solves crimes with the help of his son, a homicide detective played by his real-life son Barry Van Dyke. The series began as a spin-off of Jake and the Fatman...
, Touched by an AngelTouched by an Angel is an American Fantasy drama television series that chronicles the missions of a group of angels sent by God. Created by John Masius and produced by Martha Williamson , it ran on CBS for nine seasons, from September 21, 1994 to April 27, 2003, and aired in many countries all...
, Dr. Quinn, Medicine WomanDr. Quinn, Medicine Woman is an American western/drama series created by Beth Sullivan. Dr. Michaela Quinn, Jane Seymour, forced out Boston by a closed-minded society. Dr...
, Walker, Texas RangerWalker, Texas Ranger is an American television police drama/Action, created by Lesie Grief and Paul Haggis. It aired on CBS with three pilot episodes followed by eight full seasons, from April 21, 1993 to May 19, 2001, was broadcast in over 100 countries, and has since spawned at least one...
, and a resurgent Jake and the FatmanJake and the Fatman is a television crime drama starring William Conrad as prosecutor J. L. "Fatman" McCabe and Joe Penny as investigator Jake Styles. The series ran on CBS for five seasons from 1987 to 1992...
during this period, and CBS was able to reclaim the first place crown briefly, in the 1992-1993 season, though its demographics skewed older than ABC, NBC or even Fox, with its relatively limited presence at that time.
Despite some limited success CBS had with the
1994 Winter OlympicsThe 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1994 in Lillehammer, Norway. In 1986, the IOC voted to separate the Summer and Winter Games, which had been held in the same year since the latter's inception in...
, Fox's acquisition on the
NFLThe National Football League is the largest professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing its name to the National Football League in 1922. The league currently consists of...
resulted in
affiliation changesThe Fox affiliate switches of 1994 was a series of events resulting from a multi-million dollar deal between Fox Broadcasting Company, known commonly as Fox, and New World Communications, an owner of several VHF television stations affiliated with major networks, primarily CBS.The major impetus for...
(along with an ill-fated effort to court younger viewers) and CBS dropped to second-place in the ratings in the 1994-1995 season behind a resurgent NBC (with Seinfeld
, Friends
, and other "Must See TV"Must See TV" is an advertising slogan used by the NBC television network to brand its prime time blocks of sitcoms during the 1990s, and most often applied to its Thursday night lineup...
" shows,) and in 1999 behind a briefly-resurgent ABC (fueled by Who Wants to be a MillionaireIn the United States, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire is a television game show which offers a maximum prize of $1,000,000 for correctly answering 15 successive multiple-choice questions of increasing difficulty...
.)
Still, CBS was able to produce some hits, such as CosbyCosby is a situation comedy television series broadcast on CBS from September 16, 1996 to April 28, 2000. The television program starred Bill Cosby, Phylicia Rashād...
, The NannyThe Nanny is an American television sitcom co-produced by Sternin & Fraser Ink, Inc. and Highschool Sweethearts Productions in association with TriStar Television for the CBS network...
, and Everybody Loves RaymondEverybody Loves Raymond is an American television sitcom that originally ran on CBS from September 13, 1996 to May 16, 2005.Many of the situations from the show are based on the real-life experiences of lead actor Ray Romano, creator/producer Phil Rosenthal and the show's writing staff...
.
2002–present
Another turning point for CBS came in the summer of 2000 when it debuted the summer reality show SurvivorSurvivor is an American version of the Survivor reality television game show, itself derived from the Swedish television series Expedition Robinson originally created in 1997 by Charlie Parsons, and first broadcast in May 2000. Mark Burnett produces the American series. Its host is the former game...
, which became a surprise summer hit for the network. In January 2001, CBS debuted the second season of the show after its airing of the Super Bowl and scheduled it Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET, and moved the police procedural CSICSI: Crime Scene Investigation is an American crime drama television series, which premiered on CBS on October 6, 2000. The show was created by Anthony E. Zuiker and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer...
(which had debuted that fall Fridays at 9 p.m. ET) to Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET and was both able to chip away at and eventually beat NBC's Thursday night lineup, and attract younger viewers to the network.
CBS has had additional successes with police procedurals Cold CaseCold Case is an American police procedural television series which premiered on September 28, 2003 on CBS. The series revolves around a fictionalized Philadelphia Police Department division in Pennsylvania that specializes in investigating cold cases. The series currently airs in syndication on TNT...
, Without a TraceWithout a Trace is an American television drama which originally ran on CBS from September 26, 2002 to May 19, 2009. The series is set in New York City and is about a fictitious full-time FBI missing persons unit.-Premise:...
, Criminal MindsCriminal Minds is an American crime drama series that premiered September 22, 2005 on CBS. The series follows the adventures of a team of profilers from the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit at Quantico, Virginia. Criminal Minds differs from many criminal system procedural dramas by focusing on the...
, NCISNCIS , is an American police procedural drama television series revolving around a fictional team of special agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, which conducts criminal investigations involving the U.S...
, and The MentalistThe Mentalist is an American crime procedural television series which debuted on September 23, 2008 on CBS.-Premise:The Mentalist follows Simon Baker as Patrick Jane, an independent consultant for the California Bureau of Investigation based in Sacramento, California. He has a remarkable track...
, along with CSI
spinoffs CSI: MiamiCSI: Miami is an American police procedural television series, which premiered on September 23, 2002 on CBS. The series is a spin-off of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation....
and CSI: NYCSI: NY is an American police procedural television series, which premiered on September 22, 2004 on CBS...
, and sitcoms Everybody Loves RaymondEverybody Loves Raymond is an American television sitcom that originally ran on CBS from September 13, 1996 to May 16, 2005.Many of the situations from the show are based on the real-life experiences of lead actor Ray Romano, creator/producer Phil Rosenthal and the show's writing staff...
, The King of QueensThe King of Queens is an American sitcom that ran for nine seasons, from 1998 to 2007, on CBS.The show was produced by Hanley Productions and CBS Productions , CBS Paramount Television in association with Columbia TriStar Television , and Sony Pictures Television...
, Two and a Half MenTwo and a Half Men is an Emmy Award-winning and Golden Globe Award-nominated American television comedy series, which premiered on CBS on September 22, 2003. The sitcom stars Charlie Sheen, Jon Cryer and Angus T. Jones. The show is about a hedonistic jingle writer, Charlie; his uptight brother,...
, How I Met Your MotherHow I Met Your Mother is an Emmy Award winning American sitcom that premiered on CBS on September 19, 2005. The show was created by Craig Thomas and Carter Bays...
, The Big Bang TheoryThe Big Bang Theory is an American sitcom created and executive produced by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady. It premiered on CBS September 24, 2007....
and The New Adventures of Old ChristineThe New Adventures of Old Christine is a comedy series starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus as a recently divorced single mother. The series debuted as a midseason replacement on March 13, 2006 on CBS and has broadcast four complete seasons....
.
During the 2007-2008 season, Fox ranked as the top-rated network, primarily due to its reliance on American IdolAmerican Idol is a reality competition to find new solo musical talent, created by Simon Fuller. It debuted on June 11, 2002 on the Fox network, and has since become one of the most popular shows on American television...
. However, according to
NielsenNielsen ratings are audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
, CBS ended up as the top-rated network for the 2008-2009 season.
The conglomerate
During the 1960s, CBS began an effort to diversify, and looked for suitable investments. In 1965, it acquired
electric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses pickups to convert the vibration of its steel-cored strings into an electrical current, which is made louder with an instrument amplifier and a speaker. The signal that comes from the guitar is sometimes electronically altered with guitar effects such as...
maker Fender from
Leo FenderClarence Leonidas Fender , also known as Leo Fender, was a Greek-American inventor who founded Fender Electric Instrument Manufacturing Company, now known as Fender Musical Instruments Corporation, and later founded MusicMan and G&L Musical Products...
, who agreed to sell his company due to health problems. The purchase also included that of
RhodesThe Rhodes piano is an electromechanical musical instrument, a famous electric piano. Its distinctive sound has appeared in thousands of songs of all musical styles, since it was first introduced in 1965. Since its rennaisance in the 1990s, it has again become very popular and widely used...
electric pianos, which had already been acquired by Fender. This and other acquisitions led to a restructuring of the corporation into various operating groups and divisions.
In other diversification attempts, CBS would buy (and later sell) sports teams (especially the
New York YankeesThe New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the borough of the Bronx, in New York City, New York and are a member of Major League Baseball's American League East Division...
baseball club), book and magazine publishers (
Fawcett PublicationsFawcett Publications was an American publishing company founded in 1919 in Robbinsdale, Minnesota by Wilford Hamilton "Captain Billy" Fawcett . At the age of 16, Fawcett ran away from home to join the Army, and the Spanish-American War took him to the Philippines. Back in Minnesota, he became a...
including
Woman's DayWoman's Day is a magazine aimed at a female readership, covering such subjects as food, nutrition, fitness, beauty and fashion. The magazine edition is one of the "Seven Sisters", a group of women's service magazines....
, and Holt, Rinehart and Winston), map-makers, 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. Over the years any number of accomplished, successful businessmen were recruited, loudly praised to the press, only later to be summarily dismissed. By the mid-1980s, the investor
Laurence TischLaurence Alan Tisch was a Jewish American businessman, Wall Street investor and self-made billionaire. He was the CEO of CBS television network from 1986 to 1995...
had begun to acquire substantial holdings in CBS. Eventually he gained Paley's confidence, and then his blessing, taking control of CBS in 1986. But Tisch had no dreams of quality or of "Tiffany" networks; he expected a return on his investment.
When CBS faltered, under-performing units were given the axe. Among the first properties to go, and among the most prestigious, was the
Columbia RecordsColumbia Records is an American record label founded in 1888.Columbia is the oldest surviving brand name in pre-recorded sound, being the first record company to produce pre-recorded records as opposed to blank cylinders. Columbia Records went on to release records by an array of notable singers,...
group, which had been part of the company since 1938. Tisch also shut down in 1986 the
CBS Technology CenterCBS Laboratories or CBS Labs was the technology research and development organization of CBS...
in
StamfordStamford is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. According to 2007 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 118,475, making it the fourth largest city in the state and the eighth largest city in New England Stamford is part of the New York metropolitan area.-Sister...
, CT, which had started in New York City in the 1930s as
CBS LaboratoriesCBS Laboratories or CBS Labs was the technology research and development organization of CBS...
and evolved to be the company's technology
R&DThe phrase research and development , according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, refers to "creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of man, culture and society, and the use of this stock of...
unit.
Columbia Records
Columbia Records was a record label owned by CBS since 1938. CBS sold Columbia Records to the Japanese
conglomerateA conglomerate is a combination of two or more companies engaged in entirely different businesses together into one overarching company . Conglomerates are often large...
Sonyis a multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan, and one of the world's largest media conglomerates with revenue exceeding ¥ 7.730.0 trillion, or $78.88 billion U.S. . Sony is one of the leading manufacturers of electronics, video, communications, video game...
in 1988 initiating the Japanese buying spree of US companies (MCA,
Pebble BeachPebble Beach Golf Links is a golf course located in Pebble Beach, California in the Western United States. Four of the courses in the coastal community of Pebble Beach, including Pebble Beach Golf Links, belong to the Pebble Beach Company, which also operates three hotels and a spa at the resort...
Co.,
Rockefeller CenterRockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commercial buildings covering between 48th and 51st streets in New York City. Built by the Rockefeller family, it is located in the center of Midtown Manhattan, spanning the area between Fifth Avenue and Seventh Avenue. It was declared a National Historic...
,
Empire State BuildingThe Empire State Building is a 102-story landmark Art Deco skyscraper in New York City at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street. Its name is derived from the nickname for the state of New York. It stood as the world's tallest building for more than forty years, from its completion...
, et al.) that continued into the 1990s and the record label company was re-christened
Sony Music EntertainmentSony Music Entertainment is the second-largest global recorded music company of the "big four" record companies and is controlled by Sony Corporation of America.-History:...
in 1991, as Sony had a short term license on the CBS name. Eventually the entity known as Sony Music Entertainment would become Sony BMG when Sony and BMG merged in 2004.
Sony purchased from
EMIThe EMI Group is a British music company. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry, making it one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major publishing arm- EMI Music Publishing- based in New York City...
its rights to the Columbia Records name outside the US, Canada and Japan. Sony BMG now uses Columbia Records as a label name in all countries except Japan, where Sony Records remains their flagship label.
CBS CorporationCBS Corporation is an American media conglomerate focused on broadcasting, publishing, billboards, and television production, with most of its operations in the United States. The President and CEO of the company is Leslie Moonves. Sumner Redstone, owner of National Amusements, is CBS's majority...
revived
CBS RecordsCBS Records is a record label founded by CBS Corporation in 2006 to take advantage of music from its entertainment properties owned by CBS Television Studios. The initial label roster consisted of only three artists; rock band Señor Happy and singer/songwriters Will Dailey and P.J...
in 2006.
CBS Musical Instruments division
Forming the CBS Musical Instruments division, the company also acquired
SteinwaySteinway & Sons, also known as Steinway, is an American and German manufacturer of handmade pianos, founded in 1853 in New York City, by German immigrant Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg . The company's growth led to the opening of a factory and employee village in what is now Astoria, Queens, followed...
pianos,
GemeinhardtGemeinhardt Co. is the music industry's largest manufacturer of flutes and piccolos. These musical instruments are developed by this company for all levels of musicians, beginners to professionals.-History:...
flutes, Lyon & Healy harps,
RodgersRodgers Instruments LLC is an American manufacturer of classical and church organs. Rodgers was founded in 1958 by Rodgers W. Jenkins and Fred Tinker, employees of Tektronix, Inc., of Portland, Oregon, and members of a Tektronix team developing transistor-based oscillator circuits...
(institutional) organs, Gulbransen home organs, Electro-Music Inc. (
Leslie speakerThe Leslie speaker is a specially constructed amplifier/loudspeaker used to create special audio effects using the Doppler effect. Named after its inventor, Donald Leslie, it is particularly associated with the Hammond organ. The Hammond/Leslie combination is now a ubiquitous element in many genres...
s), and
Rogers DrumsRogers Drums, The Rogers company was started in 1849 by an Irish immigrant from Dublin named Joseph Rogers. Rogers came to the United States and started crafting drum-heads. Rogers began making drums in the mid 1930s from a Farmingdale, New Jersey location...
. The last musical purchase was the 1981 acquisition of the assets of then-bankrupt
ARP InstrumentsARP Instruments, Inc. was an early electronic music company founded by Alan Robert Pearlman. Best known for its line of synthesizers that emerged in the early 1970s, ARP closed its doors in 1981 for financial reasons.- History :...
, developer of electronic
synthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument that is capable of producing a variety of sounds by generating and combining signals of different frequencies...
s.
Between 1965 and 1985 the quality of Fender guitars and amplifiers declined significantly. Encouraged by outraged Fender fans, CBS Musical Instruments division executives executed a leveraged buyout in 1985 and created FMIC, the Fender Musical Instrument Corporation. At the same time, CBS divested itself of Rodgers, along with Steinway and Gemeinhardt, all of which were purchased by Steinway Musical Properties. The other musical instruments properties were also liquidated.
Film production
CBS made a brief, unsuccessful move into film production in the late 1960s, creating
Cinema Center FilmsCinema Center Films was the theatrical film production division of the CBS television network. Founded in 1967 , its films were distributed by National General Pictures. CBS closed the unit in 1972; its last film was the Peanuts animated musical Snoopy Come Home...
. This profit-free unit was shut down in 1972; today the distribution rights to the Cinema Center library rest with Paramount Pictures for home video (via CBS Home Entertainment) and theatrical release, and with CBS Paramount Television for TV distribution (most other ancillary rights remain with CBS). It released such films as
The ReiversThe Reivers is a 1969 film directed by Mark Rydell based on the William Faulkner novel of the same name...
(1969), starring Steve McQueenTerrence Steven "Steve" McQueen was an American movie actor nicknamed, "The King of Cool." His "anti-hero" persona, which he developed at the height of the Vietnam counterculture, made him one of the top box-office draws of the 1960s and 1970s. McQueen received an Academy Award nomination for his...
, and the musical ScroogeScrooge is a 1970 musical film adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic 1843 story, A Christmas Carol. It was filmed in London, directed by Ronald Neame, and starred Albert Finney in the title role. The film's musical score was composed by Leslie Bricusse, and arranged and conducted by Ian Fraser...
(1970), starring
Albert FinneyAlbert Finney, Jr. is an English actor. Hailed as a "second Olivier" as a young stage actor in the late 1950s, Finney rose to film star fame in the early 1960s...
.
Yet ten years later, in 1982, CBS was talked into another try at Hollywood, in a joint venture with
Columbia PicturesColumbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
and HBO called
TriStar PicturesTriStar Pictures, Inc. is a film subsidiary of Columbia Pictures, itself a subdivision of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, which is owned by Sony Pictures...
. Their first release, in 1984, was
The NaturalThe Natural is a 1952 novel about baseball written by Bernard Malamud. The book follows Roy Hobbs, a baseball prodigy whose career is sidetracked when he is shot by a sociopathic serial killer. Most of the story concerns itself with his attempts to return to baseball later in life, when he plays...
. Their second movie was a flop remake of the 1960 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer picture
Where the Boys AreWhere the Boys Are is a American coming-of-age comedy film, written by George Wells based on the novel by Glendon Swarthout, about four Midwestern college co-eds who spend spring break in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The title song "Where the Boys Are" was sung by Connie Francis, who also co-starred...
. CBS dropped out of the venture in 1984.
In 2007, CBS Corp. announced its desire to get back into the feature film business slowly launching CBS Films and hiring key executives in the Spring of 2008 to startup the new venture. The name CBS Films was actually used once before in 1953 when the name was briefly used for CBS's distributor of off-network and first-run syndicated programming to local TV stations in the United States and abroad.
Home video
CBS entered into the home video market, when joined with
MGMMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc., or MGM, is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B...
to form
MGM/CBS Home VideoMGM/CBS Home Video was the joint venture between Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and CBS Video Enterprises. The company lasted from 1979 to 1982, when the company became MGM/UA Home Video after CBS's departure. MGM/CBS' first release was The Wizard of Oz...
in 1978, but the joint venture was broken by 1982. CBS joined another studio:
20th Century FoxTwentieth Century Fox Film Corporation , also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox, is one of the six major American film studios...
, to form
CBS/Fox VideoCBS/Fox Video was a home video company formed and established in 1982, as a merger between 20th Century Fox Video, formerly Magnetic Video Corporation, and CBS Video Enterprises....
. CBS's duty was to release some of the movies by
TriStar PicturesTriStar Pictures, Inc. is a film subsidiary of Columbia Pictures, itself a subdivision of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, which is owned by Sony Pictures...
under the
CBS/Fox VideoCBS/Fox Video was a home video company formed and established in 1982, as a merger between 20th Century Fox Video, formerly Magnetic Video Corporation, and CBS Video Enterprises....
label.
Gabriel Toys
CBS entered the video game market briefly, through its acquisition of Gabriel Toys (renamed CBS Toys), publishing several arcade adaptations and original titles under the name CBS Electronics for the
Atari 2600The Atari 2600 is a video game console released in October 1977. It is credited with popularizing the use of microprocessor-based hardware and cartridges containing game code, instead of having non-microprocessor dedicated hardware with all games built in...
and other consoles and computers and also a one of the first karaoke recording/players.). CBS Electronics also distributed all
ColecoColeco was an American company founded in 1932 by Maurice Greenberg as "Connecticut Leather Company". It became a highly successful toy company in the 1980s, known for its mass-produced version of Cabbage Patch Kids dolls and its video game consoles, the Coleco Telstar and...
-related video game products in Canada, including the
ColecoVisionThe ColecoVision is Coleco Industries' second generation home video game console which was released in August 1982. The ColecoVision offered arcade-quality graphics and gaming style, the ability to play Atari 2600 video games, and the means to expand the system's basic hardware...
. CBS later sold Gabriel Toys to
View-MasterView-Master, since 1939, has been a device for viewing seven 3-D images on a paper disk. Although the View-Master is now considered a children's toy, it was originally marketed as a way for viewers to enjoy stereograms of colorful and picturesque tourist attractions.-1939–66: stereoscopic...
, which eventually ended up as part of
MattelMattel Inc. is the world's largest toy importing company based on revenue. The products it produces include Barbie dolls, Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars, Masters of the Universe, American Girl dolls, board games, and, in the early 1980s, video game consoles. It was founded in 1945 by Harold "Matt"...
.
New owners
By the early 1990s, profits had fallen as a result of competition from cable companies, video rentals, and the high cost of programming. About 20 former CBS affiliates switched to the rapidly rising
Fox Television NetworkThe Fox Broadcasting Company , commonly referred to as Fox , is an American television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, from 2004 to 2009 Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the 18–49 demographic...
in the mid 1990s, with many television markets across the country (e.g.
KDFXKDFX-CA, channel 33, is the Class A Fox-affiliated television station for the Coachella Valley that is licensed to Indio and Palm Springs, California. Its transmitter is located on Edom Hill northeast of Cathedral City and I-10. Owned by the News-Press & Gazette Company, the station is sister to...
in
Palm Springs, CaliforniaPalm Springs is a desert city in Riverside County, California, approximately 111 miles east of Los Angeles and 136 miles northeast of San Diego. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 42,807. Golf, swimming, tennis, horseback riding and hiking in the nearby desert and mountain areas are...
and
KECYKECY-TV, channel 9, is the primary Fox and secondary MyNetworkTV-affiliated television station for El Centro, California and Yuma, Arizona. Its transmitter is located between the two cities in the Chocolate Mountains in Imperial County, California and the station can be picked up over-the-air in...
in
Yuma, ArizonaYuma is a city in and the county seat of Yuma County, Arizona, United States. The population of the city was 77,515 at the 2000 census, with a 2006 Census Bureau estimated population of 87,423....
reportedly the first to do so in August 1994) lost their CBS affiliate for awhile. CBS ratings were acceptable, but the network struggled with an image of stodginess. Laurence Tisch lost interest and sought a new buyer.
Westinghouse Electric Corporation
In 1995, Westinghouse Electric Corporation acquired CBS for $5.4 billion. As one of the major broadcasting group owners of commercial radio and television stations (as
Group WThe Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, also known as Group W, was the broadcasting division of Westinghouse Electric Corporation. It owned several radio and television stations across the United States and distributed television shows for syndication....
) since 1920, Westinghouse sought to transition from a station operator into a major media company with its purchase of CBS. This was followed in 1997 with the $4.9-billion purchase of
Infinity Broadcasting CorporationInfinity Broadcasting Corporation was a radio company that existed from 1972 until 2005. It was founded by Michael A. Wiener and Gerald Carrus. It became the most powerful radio company due to the popularity of Howard Stern. Infinity would later merge with CBS Corporation in 1997, and later with...
, owner of more than 150 radio stations. Also that year, Westinghouse began the CBS Cable division by acquiring two existing cable channels (
Gaylord'sThe Gaylord Entertainment Company operates a number of hotel, resort, and media companies that were built by Edward Gaylord.Facilities owned include:* Gaylord Hotels** Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center, in Nashville, Tennessee...
The Nashville NetworkThe Nashville Network, or TNN as it is usually called, was an American country music-oriented cable television network. Programming includes music videos, taped concerts, movies, syndicated programs, and numerous talk shows...
and
Country Music TelevisionCountry Music Television, or CMT as it is usually called, is an American country music-oriented cable television network. Programming includes music videos, taped concerts, movies, biographies of country music stars, and reality programs...
) and starting a new one (CBS Eye on People, which was later sold to
Discovery CommunicationsDiscovery Communications, Inc. is an American global media and entertainment company. The company started as a single channel in 1985, The Discovery Channel. Today, DCI has global operations offering 29 network entertainment brands on over 100 channels in over 170 countries in 33 languages for...
).
Following the Infinity purchase, operation and sales responsibilities for the
CBS Radio NetworkThe CBS Radio Network provides news, sports and other programming to more than 1,000 radio stations throughout the United States. The network is owned by the CBS Corporation, and operated by CBS Corporation's CBS Radio Inc...
was handed to Infinity, which turned management over to
Westwood OneWestwood One is an American radio network. It is based in New York City, and it was previously managed by CBS Radio, the radio arm of CBS Corporation. The company is now owned by the private-equity firm The Gores Group and describes itself as "platform agnostic" but still focuses mostly on radio as...
, a company Infinity managed. WWO is a major radio program syndicator that had previously purchased the Mutual Broadcasting System, NBC's radio networks and the rights to use the "NBC Radio Networks" name. For a time, CBS Radio, NBC Radio Networks and CNN's radio news services were all under the WWO umbrella.
As of 2008,
Westwood OneWestwood One is an American radio network. It is based in New York City, and it was previously managed by CBS Radio, the radio arm of CBS Corporation. The company is now owned by the private-equity firm The Gores Group and describes itself as "platform agnostic" but still focuses mostly on radio as...
continues to distribute CBS radio programming, but as a self-managed company that put itself up for sale and found a buyer for a significant amount of its stock.
CBS also owned CBS Telenoticias, a Spanish-language news network.
In that same year of 1997, Westinghouse changed its name to
CBS CorporationCBS Corporation is an American media conglomerate focused on broadcasting, publishing, billboards, and television production, with most of its operations in the United States. The President and CEO of the company is Leslie Moonves. Sumner Redstone, owner of National Amusements, is CBS's majority...
, and corporate headquarters were moved from Pittsburgh to New York. And to underline the change in emphasis, all non-entertainment assets were put up for sale. Another 90 radio stations were added to Infinity's portfolio in 1998 with the acquisition of American Radio Systems Corporation for $2.6 billion.
In 1999, CBS paid $2.5 billion to acquire
King World ProductionsKing World Productions, Inc. was a syndicator of television programming in the United States until its eventual 2007 incorporation into CBS Television Distribution...
, a television syndication company whose programs include
The Oprah Winfrey ShowThe Oprah Winfrey Show is a United States syndicated talk show, hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey, and is the highest-rated talk show in American television history...
, Jeopardy!Jeopardy! is an American quiz show featuring trivia in topics such as history, literature, the arts, pop culture, and science. The show has a unique answer-and-question format in which contestants are presented with clues in the form of answers, and must phrase their responses in question form.The...
and Wheel of Fortune. By the end of 1999, all pre-CBS elements of Westinghouse's industrial past (beyond retaining rights to the name for
brand licensingBrand licensing is the process of creating and managing contracts between the owner of a brand and a company or individual who wants to use the brand in association with a product, for an agreed period of time, within an agreed territory...
purposes) were gone.
Viacom
By the 1990s, CBS had become a broadcasting giant, but in 1999 entertainment
conglomerateA conglomerate is a combination of two or more companies engaged in entirely different businesses together into one overarching company . Conglomerates are often large...
Viacom (1971–2005)The original Viacom began life as CBS Films, Inc., the television syndication division of CBS. In 1971, the division was renamed VIACOM , and in 1973 it was spun off, amid new FCC rules forbidding television networks from owning syndication companies .Effective December 31, 2005, this corporate...
, a company created years earlier to syndicate old CBS series, announced it was taking over CBS in a deal valued at $37 billion. Following completion of this effort in 2000,
ViacomViacom , short for "Video & Audio Communications", is an American media conglomerate with various worldwide interests in cable and satellite television networks , and movie production and distribution with Paramount Motion Pictures Group. Paramount is also the distributor of movie studio DreamWorks...
was ranked as 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 promised synergy was not there, and at the end of 2005 it split itself in two. CBS became the center of a new company,
CBS CorporationCBS Corporation is an American media conglomerate focused on broadcasting, publishing, billboards, and television production, with most of its operations in the United States. The President and CEO of the company is Leslie Moonves. Sumner Redstone, owner of National Amusements, is CBS's majority...
, which included the broadcasting elements, Paramount Television's production operations (renamed CBS Television Studios),
UPNUnited Paramount Network was a television network that broadcast in over 200 markets in the United States, being in production for over eleven years. UPN was originally owned by Viacom/Paramount and Chris-Craft Industries. It was later owned by CBS Corporation. Its first night of broadcasting was...
(which later merged with
Time WarnerTime Warner Inc. is the world's largest entertainment conglomerate , as well as the world's fourth largest media conglomerate, headquartered in the Time Warner Center in New York City...
's
The WBThe WB Television Network, or simply The WB, was a television network in the United States that was launched on January 11, 1995 as a joint venture of Warner Bros. and Tribune Broadcasting. As a replacement, on January 24, 2006, CBS Corporation and Warner Bros...
into
The CWThe CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...
), Viacom Outdoor
advertisingAdvertising is a form of communication used to influence individuals to purchase products or services or support political candidates or ideas. Frequently it communicates a message that includes the name of the product or service and how that product or service could potentially benefit the consumer...
(renamed
CBS Outdooris the outdoor advertising division of media conglomerate CBS Corporation. It operates around the globe, in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, the Netherlands, Mexico, France, Ireland, Finland, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom led by CEO Wally Kelly...
),
ShowtimeShowtime is a subscription television brand used by a number of channels and platforms around the world, but primarily refers to a group of channels in the United States...
,
Simon & SchusterSimon & Schuster, Inc., a division of CBS Corporation, is a publisher founded in New York City in 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. It is one of the four largest English language publishers, alongside Random House, Penguin, and HarperCollins...
, and
Paramount ParksParamount Parks was an operator of theme parks and attractions, which annually attracted about 13 million patrons. Viacom had assumed control of the company as part of its acquisition of Paramount Pictures in 1994....
, which the company sold in May 2006.
The second company, keeping the
ViacomViacom , short for "Video & Audio Communications", is an American media conglomerate with various worldwide interests in cable and satellite television networks , and movie production and distribution with Paramount Motion Pictures Group. Paramount is also the distributor of movie studio DreamWorks...
name, kept Paramount Pictures (a former shareholder in CBS, see above, also owned a stake in the
DuMont Television NetworkThe DuMont Television Network, also known as the DuMont Network, DuMont, Du Mont, or Dumont was one of the world's pioneer commercial television networks, rivalling NBC for the distinction of being first overall. It began operation in the United States in 1946. It was owned by DuMont...
, whose Pittsburgh O&O is now CBS-owned
KDKA-TVKDKA-TV is the CBS owned and operated television station in Pittsburgh. Its studios are located at One Gateway Center in Downtown Pittsburgh. It broadcasts its digital signal on UHF channel 25 from its transmitter in Pittsburgh. Along with sister station KYW-TV, it is one of two television...
), assorted MTV Networks, BET, and, until May 2007,
Famous MusicFamous Music was the worldwide music publishing division of Paramount Pictures, a division of Viacom since 1994. Its copyright holdings span several decades and includes music from such Academy Award-winning motion pictures as The Godfather and Forrest Gump...
, which was sold to
Sony/ATV Music PublishingSony/ATV Music Publishing is a music publishing company co-owned by The Michael Jackson Family Trust and Sony. The organisation was originally founded as Associated TeleVision in 1955 by Lew Grade. In 1957, ATV acquired Pye Records as a wholly-owned subsidiary...
.
As a result of the aforementioned Viacom/CBS corporate split, as well as other acquisitions over recent years, CBS (under the moniker CBS Studios) owns a massive television library spanning over six decades; these include not only CBS in-house productions and network programs, but also programs aired originally on competing networks. Shows in this library include
I Love LucyI Love Lucy is an American television sitcom, starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance and William Frawley. The black-and-white series originally ran from October 15, 1951 to April 1, 1960 on CBS...
, The Twilight ZoneThe Twilight Zone is an American anthology television series created by Rod Serling, which ran for five seasons on CBS from 1959 to 1964 and remains syndicated to this day. The show consisted of unrelated vignettes depicting paranormal, futuristic, dystopian, or simply disturbing events, usually...
, The HoneymoonersThe Honeymooners is a situation comedy television show that was created by Marvin Marx, and shot before a live audience which debuted as a half-hour series on October 1, 1955...
, Hawaii Five-OHawaii Five-O is an American television series that starred Jack Lord in the lead role for a fictional Hawaii state police department. The show ran for 12 seasons, from 1968 to 1980. The twelfth season was repackaged into syndication under the title McGarrett.-Overview:The CBS television network...
, GunsmokeGunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West....
, The FugitiveThe Fugitive is an American television series produced by QM Productions and United Artists Television that aired on ABC from 1963 to 1967. David Janssen starred as Richard Kimble, a doctor from the fictional town of Stafford, Indiana, who is falsely convicted of his wife's murder and given the...
, Little House on the PrairieLittle House on the Prairie is an American one-hour dramatic television program, starring Michael Landon, about a family living on a farm in Minnesota in the 1870s and 1880s. The show was a loose adaptation of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s best-selling series of Little House on the Prairie books. It aired...
(US TV rights only), Star TrekStar Trek is a science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry that aired from September 8, 1966 to September 2, 1969. Though the original series was titled simply Star Trek, it has acquired the retronym Star Trek: The Original Series to distinguish it from the spinoffs that...
, The Brady BunchThe Brady Bunch is an American television sitcom. starring Robert Reed, Florence Henderson, and Ann B. Davis, which revolves around a large blended family...
, CheersCheers is an American situation comedy television series that ran for eleven seasons from 1982 to 1993. It was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions in association with Paramount Television for NBC, having been created by the team of James Burrows, Glen Charles, and Les Charles...
, The Young Indiana Jones ChroniclesThe Young Indiana Jones Chronicles is an American television series that ran from 1992 to 1996. The series explores the childhood and youth of the fictional character Indiana Jones...
, Evening ShadeEvening Shade was an American comedy television series which aired on CBS from 1990 to 1994. The sitcom starred Burt Reynolds as Wood Newton, an ex-professional football player for the Pittsburgh Steelers, who returns to rural Evening Shade, Arkansas to coach a high school football team with a long...
, and CSI: Crime Scene InvestigationCSI: Crime Scene Investigation is an American crime drama television series, which premiered on CBS on October 6, 2000. The show was created by Anthony E. Zuiker and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer...
, among others.
Both CBS Corporation and the new Viacom are still owned by Sumner Redstone's company, National Amusements. As such, Paramount Home Entertainment continues to handle DVD distribution for the CBS library.
Corporate tidbits
ACNielsenACNielsen is a global marketing research firm, with worldwide headquarters in New York City. Regional headquarters for North America are located in Schaumburg, IL. As of 2008, its the part of The Nielsen Company.-History:...
estimated in 2003 that CBS can be seen in 96.98% of all American households, reaching 103,421,270 homes in the United States. CBS has 204 VHF and UHF affiliated stations in the U.S. and U.S. possessions. CBS is currently the most watched television network in the United States, with the prime draws being the
CSICSI: Crime Scene Investigation is an American crime drama television series, which premiered on CBS on October 6, 2000. The show was created by Anthony E. Zuiker and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer...
and SurvivorSurvivor is an American version of the Survivor reality television game show, itself derived from the Swedish television series Expedition Robinson originally created in 1997 by Charlie Parsons, and first broadcast in May 2000. Mark Burnett produces the American series. Its host is the former game...
franchises. It was the number one network until the
Fox NetworkThe Fox Broadcasting Company , commonly referred to as Fox , is an American television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, from 2004 to 2009 Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the 18–49 demographic...
overtook it in 2008 for 2 weeks.
Logos and slogans
CBS unveiled its
EyeEyes are organs that detect light, and send electrical impulses along the optic nerve to the visual and other areas of the brain. Complex optical systems with resolving power have come in ten fundamentally different forms, and 96% of animal species possess a complex optical system...
Device
logoA logo is a graphical element that, together with its logotype form a trademark or commercial brand. Typically, a logo's design is for immediate recognition...
on October 17, 1951. Before that, from the 1940s through 1951, CBS Television used an oval spotlight on the block letters C-B-S. The Eye device was conceived by
William GoldenWilliam Golden is considered to be one of the pioneers of American graphic design. He is best known for his work at Columbia Broadcasting System, starting in the CBS Radio promotion department and culminating in his tenure as creative director of advertising and sales promotion for CBS Television...
based on a
Pennsylvania DutchThe Pennsylvania Dutch are the descendants of Germanic peoples who emigrated to the U.S. , from Germany and The Low Countries prior to 1800. The Dutch are generally regarded as one of several Germanic peoples...
hex signHex signs are a form of Pennsylvania Dutch folk art, related to Fraktur, found in the Fancy Dutch tradition in Pennsylvania Dutch Country.Today some non-Pennsylvania Dutch people use the signs in a talismanic nature, although others see it as purely decorative, or "Chust for nice" in the local...
as well as a
ShakerThe United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing, known as the Shakers, is a Protestant religious sect.-Origins:The Shakers were originally located in England in 1747, in the home of Mother Ann Lee. They developed from the religious group called the Quakers which originated in the 17th...
drawing. (While commonly attributed to Golden, there is speculation that at least some design work on the symbol may have been done by another CBS staff designer, Georg Olden, one of the first African-Americans to achieve some notoriety in the postwar graphic design field.) The Eye device made its broadcasting debut on October 20, 1951. The following season, as
GoldenWilliam Golden is considered to be one of the pioneers of American graphic design. He is best known for his work at Columbia Broadcasting System, starting in the CBS Radio promotion department and culminating in his tenure as creative director of advertising and sales promotion for CBS Television...
prepared a new
identA logo is a graphical element that, together with its logotype form a trademark or commercial brand. Typically, a logo's design is for immediate recognition...
, CBS President
Frank StantonFrank Nicholas Stanton was an American broadcasting executive who served as the president of CBS between 1946 and 1971 and then vice chairman until 1973. He also served as the chairman of the Rand Corporation from 1961 until 1967.Along with William S. Paley, Stanton is credited with the...
insisted on keeping the Eye device and using it as much as possible.
An example of CBS Television Network's imaging (and the distinction between the television and radio networks) may be seen in a video of
The Jack Benny ProgramThe Jack Benny Program, starring Jack Benny, is a radio-TV comedy series which ran for more than three decades and is generally regarded as a high-water mark in 20th-century comedy.-Radio:...
from 1953; the video appears to be converted from kinescopeKinescope – kine for short, also known as telerecording, is a recording of a television program made by filming the picture from a video monitor....
, and "unscoped" or unedited. One sees the program as very nearly one would have seen it live on CBS. Don WilsonDon Wilson was an American announcer and occasional actor in radio and television, with a Falstaffian vocal presence, remembered best as the rotund announcer and comic foil to the star of The Jack Benny Program....
is the program announcer, but also voices a promo for Private SecretaryPrivate Secretary is an American sitcom that aired for 103 episodes from February 1, 1953 to September 10, 1957 on CBS, alternating with The Jack Benny Program on Sundays at 7:30pm...
, which starred
Ann SothernAnn Sothern was an American film and television actress with a career spanning six decades.-Early life and career:...
and alternated weekly with
Jack BennyJack Benny , born Benjamin Kubelsky, was an American comedian, vaudevillian, and actor for radio, television, and film...
on the CBS schedule. Benny continued to appear on CBS radio and television at that time, and Wilson makes a promo announcement at the end of the broadcast for Benny's radio program on the
CBS Radio NetworkThe CBS Radio Network provides news, sports and other programming to more than 1,000 radio stations throughout the United States. The network is owned by the CBS Corporation, and operated by CBS Corporation's CBS Radio Inc...
. The program closes with the "CBS Television Network" ID slide (the "CBS eye" over a field of clouds with the words "CBS Television Network" superimposed over the eye). There is, however, no voiceover accompanying the ID slide. It is unclear whether it was simply absent from the recording or never originally broadcast.
The CBS eye is now an American icon. While the symbol's settings have changed, the Eye device itself has not been redesigned in its entire history. In the network's new graphic identity created by
Trollbäck + CompanyTrollbäck + Company is a New York-based creative studio producing graphics, design and live action for advertising, broadcast, and entertainment...
in 2006, the eye is being placed in a "trademark" position on show titles, days of the week and descriptive words, an approach highly respecting the value of the eye. The eye logo has frequently been copied or borrowed by television networks around the world, notable examples being the Austrian Broadcasting System (ORF) which used to use a red version of the eye logo,
Associated TeleVisionAssociated TeleVision, often referred to as ATV, was a British television company, holder of various licenses to broadcast on the ITV network from September 24, 1955 until December 31, 1981.-Formation:...
in the United Kingdom and
Frecuencia LatinaFrecuencia Latina , better known as Channel 2, is a Peruvian television network. The network was founded in May 31, 1962 by the Cavero Family Group who turned the station into a network filled with musical programs and variety shows...
in
PeruPeru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean.Peruvian territory was home to the Norte Chico...
. The logo is alternately known as the Eyemark, which was also the name of CBS's domestic and international syndication divisions in the mid to late 1990s before the King World acquisition and Viacom merger.
1980s
Through the years, CBS has developed several notable image campaigns, and several of the network's most well-known slogans date from the 1980s. 1981's "Reach for the Stars" used a space-themed campaign to capitalize on both CBS's stellar improvement in the ratings and the historic launch of the space shuttle Columbia. 1982's "Great Moments" juxtaposed scenes from classic CBS programming such as "I Love Lucy" with scenes from the network's then-current classics such as "Dallas" and "M*A*S*H". From 1983 through 1986, CBS (by now firmly atop the ratings) featured a campaign based on the slogan "We've Got the Touch". Vocals for the campaign's jingle were contributed by Richie Havens (1983–1984 and 1984–1985), Aaron Neville (1984–1985) and Kenny Rogers (1985–1986). The 1986–1987 programming season ushered in the "Share the Spirit of CBS" campaign, the network's first to use full-out computer graphics and DVE effects. Unlike most network campaign promos, the full length version of Share the Spirit not only showed a brief clip preview of each new fall series, but also utilized the CGI effects to map out the entire fall schedule by night. The success of that campaign led to the 1987–1988 "CBSpirit" campaign. Most CBSpirit promos utilized a procession of show clips once again. However, the new graphic motif was a swirling (or "swishing") blue line, that was used to represent "the spirit". The full length promo, like the previous year, had a special portion that identified new fall shows, but the mapped-out fall schedule shot was abandoned.
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 convey a more sensual, new-age image through distinguished, advanced-looking computer graphics and soothing music, backgrounding images and clips of emotionally-powerful scenes and characters. However, it was this season in which CBS began its ratings free fall, the deepest in the network's history. CBS ended the decade with "Get Ready for CBS". The 1989–90 version was a very ambitious campaign that attempted to elevate CBS out of last place (among the major networks); the motif was network stars interacting with each other in a remote studio set, getting ready for photo and TV shoots, as well as for the new season on CBS. The high-energy promo song and the campaign's practices saw many variations across the country as every CBS affiliate participated in it, as per a network mandate. Also, for the first time in history, CBS became the first broadcast network to team with a national retailer to encourage viewership, with the CBS/Kmart Get Ready Giveaway.
1990s
For the 1990–91 season, the campaign featured a new jingle—
The TemptationsThe Temptations are an American vocal group that achieved fame as one of the most successful acts to record for Motown Records. The group's repertoire has included, at various times during its five-decade career, R&B, doo-wop, funk, disco, soul, and adult contemporary music.Formed in Detroit,...
offered an altered version of their hit "Get Ready". The early 1990s featured less-than-memorable campaigns, with simplified taglines such as "This is CBS" (1992) and "You're On CBS" (1995). Eventually, the advertising department gained momentum again late in the decade with Welcome Home to CBS
(1996–1997), simplified to Welcome Home
(1997–1999) and succeeded by the spin-off campaign The Address is CBS (1999–2000).
2000s
Throughout the 2000s, CBS's ratings resurgence was backed by their "It's All Here" campaign, and their strategy led, in 2005, to the proclamation that they were "America's Most Watched Network". Their most-recent campaign, beginning in 2006, proclaims "We Are CBS" with the voice of
Don LaFontaineDonald Leroy LaFontaine was an American voiceover artist famous for recording more than 5,000 film trailers and hundreds of thousands of television advertisements, network promotions, and video game trailers. His nicknames included "Thunder Throat" and "The Voice of God"...
. As of 2009, the network has shifted to a campaign entitled "Only CBS" in which the network proclaims several unique qualities it has.
Promos
Especially during the 1960s, the three major networks, NBC, CBS and ABC, would show elaborate promos during the summer months of their upcoming fall schedule of that year. In 1961, CBS took the unusual step of airing a program entitled CBS Fall Preview Special: Seven Wonderful Nights
, using, not the usual television voiceovers, but stars of several CBS shows to promote the upcoming shows, stars such as Ed Sullivan (The Ed Sullivan Show
), Rod SerlingRodman Edward "Rod" Serling was an American screenwriter and television producer, best known for his live television dramas of the 1950s and his science fiction anthology TV series, The Twilight Zone. He was known in the more secular community as being an atheist despite converting to Unitarianism...
(The Twilight Zone
), and Raymond BurrRaymond William Stacey Burr was a Canadian actor, primarily known for his roles in the television dramas Perry Mason and Ironside and his lead role as Steve Martin in Godzilla, King of the Monsters and Godzilla 1985.-Early life:He was born Raymond William Stacey Burr in New Westminster, British...
and Barbara HaleBarbara Hale is an American actress best known for her role as Della Street, the loyal secretary of Perry Mason.-Personal life:...
(Perry Mason). The stars would appear and show previews of the entire lineup for one specific day of the week.
Programming
CBS presently operates on an 87½-hour regular network programming schedule. It provides 22 hours of
prime timePrime time or primetime is the block of programming on television during the middle of the evening.The term prime time is often defined in terms of a fixed time period, for example, from 8:00 pm to 11:00 pm...
programming to affiliated stations: 8–11 p.m. Monday to Saturday (all times ET/PT) and 7–11 p.m. on Sundays. Programming will also be provided 11 a.m.–4 p.m. weekdays (game shows The Price Is Right
and Let's Make a DealLet's Make a Deal is a television game show which originated in the United States and has since been produced in many countries throughout the world. The show was based around deals offered to members of the audience by the host. The contestants usually had to weigh the possibility of an offer...
and soaps The Young and the RestlessThe Young and the Restless is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in a fictional version of Genoa City, Wisconsin. First broadcast on March 26, 1973, The Young and the Restless was originally broadcast as half-hour episodes,...
, The Bold and the BeautifulThe Bold and the Beautiful is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS...
and As the World TurnsAs the World Turns is an American television soap opera that airs each weekday on CBS.Set in the fictional town of Oakdale, Illinois, the show debuted on Monday, April 2, 1956 at 1:30pm EST. Prior to April 2, 1956 all serials were fifteen minutes in length...
); 7–9 a.m. weekdays and Saturdays (The Early ShowThe Early Show is an American television morning news talk show broadcast by CBS from New York City, 7 to 9 a.m. Monday through Saturday. The Early Show features celebrity interviews and light entertainment and news pieces.In some markets, the Saturday version may not air...
); CBS News Sunday MorningCBS News Sunday Morning is an American television news magazine program created by Robert Northshield and original presenter Charles Kuralt, and appearing continuously since January 28, 1979 on the CBS Television Network, airing in the Eastern US on Sunday from 9:00 to 10:30 am...
, nightly editions of the CBS Evening News
, the Sunday political talk show Face the NationFace the Nation with Bob Schieffer is an American Sunday-morning political interview show which premiered on the CBS television network on November 7, 1954. It is one of the longest-running news programs in the history of television. At 30 minutes, Face the Nation is the shortest of the Sunday talk...
, a 2½-hour early morning news program Up to the MinuteUp to the Minute is the CBS overnight broadcast which offers hard news, features, interviews, weather, sports, business and commentary. Up to the Minute draws from the full resources of CBS News, including the CBS Evening News, Newspath, affiliate stations, the CBS Radio Network and Reuters...
and CBS Morning NewsCBS Morning News is the half-hour daily television broadcast from CBS News that airs following Up to the Minute. It airs from 4:30 to 5 a.m. in many markets and in some markets it airs at 4:00 a.m. and features late-breaking news stories, weather forecasts, and sports scores...
; the late night talk shows Late Show with David LettermanLate Show with David Letterman is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and is produced by Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants Incorporated. The show's music director and bandleader of the house band, the CBS Orchestra,...
and The Late Late Show with Craig FergusonThe Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson is an American late-night talk show hosted by Scottish American comedian Craig Ferguson. Ferguson is the third regular host of the CBS Late Late Show franchise. The show follows "Late Show with David Letterman" in the CBS late-night lineup.The program is the...
; and a three-hour Saturday morning live-action/animation block under a new name Cookie Jar TV.
In addition, sports programming routinely appears on the weekends, although with a somewhat unpredictable schedule (mostly between noon and 7:00 p.m. ET).
Prime time
Returning comedies are in
red; new comedies are in pink; returning dramas are in green; new dramas are in blue; returning reality shows are in yellow; new reality shows are in gold; returning game shows are in orange; new game shows are in beige; news programming is in brown; sports programming is in purple.
All times are Eastern and
PacificThe Pacific Time Zone observes standard time by subtracting eight hours from Coordinated Universal Time . The clock time in this zone is based on the mean solar time of the 120th meridian west of the Greenwich Observatory. During daylight saving time, its time offset is UTC-7.In the United States...
(subtract one hour for Central and
MountainThe Mountain Time Zone of North America keeps time by subtracting seven hours from Coordinated Universal Time, sometimes called Greenwich Mean Time during the shortest days of autumn and winter, and by subtracting six hours during daylight saving time in the spring, summer, and early autumn...
time).
| CBS |
7:00 p.m. |
7:30 p.m. |
8:00 p.m. |
8:30 p.m. |
9:00 p.m. |
9:30 p.m. |
10:00 p.m. |
10:30 p.m. |
| Sunday |
60 Minutes60 Minutes is an American investigative television newsmagazine, which has run on CBS since 1968. The program was created by long time producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation. It has been among the top-rated TV programs for much of its life,...
|
The Amazing RaceThe Amazing Race 15 is the fifteenth installment of the reality television show The Amazing Race. The Amazing Race 15 features 12 teams of two, with a pre-existing relationship, in a race around the world....
|
Three Rivers Three Rivers is a medical drama, which premiered on CBS, on October 4, 2009 and airs Sundays at 9 PM Eastern Time/Pacific Time. The series is set in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at a hospital specializing in transplants, with Alex O'Loughlin starring as a famous transplant surgeon.-Premise:Three Rivers...
|
Cold CaseCold Case is an American police procedural television series which premiered on September 28, 2003 on CBS. The series revolves around a fictionalized Philadelphia Police Department division in Pennsylvania that specializes in investigating cold cases. The series currently airs in syndication on TNT...
|
| Monday |
Local Programming |
How I Met Your MotherHow I Met Your Mother is an Emmy Award winning American sitcom that premiered on CBS on September 19, 2005. The show was created by Craig Thomas and Carter Bays...
|
Accidentally on Purpose Accidentally on Purpose is an American television situation comedy series, which premiered on CBS on September 21, 2009. The series stars Jenna Elfman and is based on the book by Mary Pols.-Plot:...
|
Two and a Half MenTwo and a Half Men is an Emmy Award-winning and Golden Globe Award-nominated American television comedy series, which premiered on CBS on September 22, 2003. The sitcom stars Charlie Sheen, Jon Cryer and Angus T. Jones. The show is about a hedonistic jingle writer, Charlie; his uptight brother,...
|
The Big Bang TheoryThe Big Bang Theory is an American sitcom created and executive produced by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady. It premiered on CBS September 24, 2007....
|
CSI: MiamiCSI: Miami is an American police procedural television series, which premiered on September 23, 2002 on CBS. The series is a spin-off of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation....
|
| Tuesday |
NCISNCIS , is an American police procedural drama television series revolving around a fictional team of special agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, which conducts criminal investigations involving the U.S...
|
NCIS: Los Angeles |
The Good Wife The Good Wife is an American legal drama, which premiered on CBS on September 22, 2009 at 10:00 p.m. EST.The series was created by Robert King and Michelle King , and stars Julianna Margulies,Christine Baranski, and Chris Noth. The Kings are executive producing with Ridley Scott , Charles...
|
| Wednesday |
The New Adventures of Old ChristineThe New Adventures of Old Christine is a comedy series starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus as a recently divorced single mother. The series debuted as a midseason replacement on March 13, 2006 on CBS and has broadcast four complete seasons....
|
Gary Unmarried Gary Unmarried is a sitcom created by Ed Yeager, which premiered on CBS on September 24, 2008. The series focuses on a recently divorced couple sharing custody of their kids while starting new relationships...
|
Criminal MindsCriminal Minds is an American crime drama series that premiered September 22, 2005 on CBS. The series follows the adventures of a team of profilers from the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit at Quantico, Virginia. Criminal Minds differs from many criminal system procedural dramas by focusing on the...
|
CSI: NYCSI: NY is an American police procedural television series, which premiered on September 22, 2004 on CBS...
|
| Thursday |
SurvivorSurvivor: Samoa is the nineteenth season of the CBS competitive reality television series Survivor. The season premiered on Thursday, September 17, 2009....
|
CSI: Crime Scene InvestigationCSI: Crime Scene Investigation is an American crime drama television series, which premiered on CBS on October 6, 2000. The show was created by Anthony E. Zuiker and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer...
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The MentalistThe Mentalist is an American crime procedural television series which debuted on September 23, 2008 on CBS.-Premise:The Mentalist follows Simon Baker as Patrick Jane, an independent consultant for the California Bureau of Investigation based in Sacramento, California. He has a remarkable track...
|
| Friday |
Ghost WhispererGhost Whisperer is an American television series, which premiered on CBS on September 23, 2005.The series follows the life of Melinda Gordon , who has the ability to see and communicate with the dead...
|
MediumMedium is an American supernatural and dramatic television series which premiered on NBC on January 3, 2005. Its focus is Allison DuBois , who acts as a research medium for the Phoenix, Arizona district attorney's office...
|
Numb3rsNumb3rs is an American television drama, which premiered on January 23, 2005 on CBS. The series was created by Nicolas Falacci and Cheryl Heuton, and follows FBI Special Agent Don Eppes and his mathematical genius brother, Charlie Eppes , who helps Don solve crimes for the FBI...
|
| Saturday |
Crimetime Saturday Crimetime Saturday is the official branding for a programming block that started in the 2004-05 on the American CBS and Canadian CTV networks between 8 and 11 p.m. ET/PT on Saturday nights...
|
Crimetime Saturday Crimetime Saturday is the official branding for a programming block that started in the 2004-05 on the American CBS and Canadian CTV networks between 8 and 11 p.m. ET/PT on Saturday nights...
|
48 Hours Mystery 48 Hours is a documentary and news program broadcast on the CBS television network since January 19, 1988. The program originally presented documentaries of various events related to a particular subject occurring within a 48-hour period, and is credited as one of the first to air a "reality show"...
|
- Midseason: Arranged Marriage
Arranged Marriage is an upcoming television series which will premiere on CBS sometime in 2010....
, The BridgeThe Bridge is an upcoming Canadian police drama commissioned by CTV and CBS. The initial order is for 11 episodes. After CTV ordered the pilot to series in November 2008, CTV later shared the pilot with CBS...
, FlashpointFlashpoint is a Canadian police drama television series that debuted on July 11, 2008, on CTV in Canada and CBS in the United States. The series is broadcast on the French-language network V in Québec since March 9, 2009...
, Miami TraumaMiami Trauma is an upcoming television series written and produced by Jeffrey Lieber. This series comes from Jerry Bruckheimer TV and Warner Bros. Television. Medical drama centers on a team of trauma surgeons saving critically injured patients in Miami, FL...
, Rules of EngagementRules of Engagement is a sitcom that debuted on CBS on February 5, 2007, as a midseason replacement, immediately following Two and a Half Men, in the time slot that was occupied by The New Adventures of Old Christine...
, Undercover BossUndercover Boss is an upcoming television series which will premiere on CBS sometime in 2010.In this hidden-camera show an executive goes undercover in his or her own company to get a raw look at how people really work....
- The weeknight late night schedule comprises talk shows Late Show with David Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and is produced by Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants Incorporated. The show's music director and bandleader of the house band, the CBS Orchestra,...
followed by The Late Late Show with Craig FergusonThe Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson is an American late-night talk show hosted by Scottish American comedian Craig Ferguson. Ferguson is the third regular host of the CBS Late Late Show franchise. The show follows "Late Show with David Letterman" in the CBS late-night lineup.The program is the...
and the CBS NewsCBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. Its current president is Sean McManus who is also head of CBS Sports...
overnight news program Up to the MinuteUp to the Minute is the CBS overnight broadcast which offers hard news, features, interviews, weather, sports, business and commentary. Up to the Minute draws from the full resources of CBS News, including the CBS Evening News, Newspath, affiliate stations, the CBS Radio Network and Reuters...
.
- † The Sunday schedule in the East and Central time zones may be delayed by sports programming (NFL
The National Football League is the largest professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing its name to the National Football League in 1922. The league currently consists of...
and golf) ending late. Unlike Fox, CBS does not usually preempt programming for late-ending sports events, instead delaying the entire schedule for overruns.
Daytime
CBS's daytime schedule is the home of the popular long-running game show The Price Is Right
. The Price is Right
, which began production in 1972, is notable as the longest continuously running daytime game show on network television.
Currently, CBS DaytimeCBS Daytime is a television programming block on CBS.-Executives:Lucy Johnson served as President of CBS-D from 1989 - 2003. CBSD's current Senior Vice President is Barbara Bloom, her Vice President is Michelle Newman. Newman was appointed CBS-D vice president in May 2008. Bloom reports to Nina...
airs three daytime soap operaA soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on television or radio. The name "soap opera" stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers such as Procter & Gamble,...
s each weekday: The Young and the RestlessThe Young and the Restless is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in a fictional version of Genoa City, Wisconsin. First broadcast on March 26, 1973, The Young and the Restless was originally broadcast as half-hour episodes,...
(1973– ), The Bold and the BeautifulThe Bold and the Beautiful is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS...
(1987– ) and As the World TurnsAs the World Turns is an American television soap opera that airs each weekday on CBS.Set in the fictional town of Oakdale, Illinois, the show debuted on Monday, April 2, 1956 at 1:30pm EST. Prior to April 2, 1956 all serials were fifteen minutes in length...
(1956– ).
The network is also home to a new version of the classic game show Let's Make a DealLet's Make a Deal is a television game show which originated in the United States and has since been produced in many countries throughout the world. The show was based around deals offered to members of the audience by the host. The contestants usually had to weigh the possibility of an offer...
, hosted by singer/comedian Wayne BradyWayne Alphonso Brady is an actor, singer, comedian and television personality, known for his work as a regular on the American version of the improvisational comedy television series Whose Line Is It Anyway?, and as the host of the daytime talk show The Wayne Brady Show...
.
While most CBS stations air the daytime shows in this order, some do not.
Notable daytime soaps that once aired on CBS include Guiding LightGuiding Light is an American daytime television drama and is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as being the longest-running soap opera in production and the longest running drama in television and radio history...
(1952–2009), which began on radio in 1937, Love of LifeLove of Life is a long-running American soap opera which was aired on CBS from September 24, 1951 to February 1, 1980, lasting 29 years. It was created by Roy Winsor, whose previous creation Search for Tomorrow had premiered three weeks before Love, and who would go on to create The Secret Storm...
(1951–1980), Search for TomorrowSearch for Tomorrow is a TV soap opera which started airing on Monday, September 3, 1951 on CBS. The show was moved from CBS, its original broadcaster, on Friday, March 26, 1982, with NBC picking it up on the following Monday, March 29, 1982. It continued on NBC until the final episode was aired on...
(1951–1982), which later moved to NBC, The Secret StormThe Secret Storm is a soap opera which aired on CBS from February 1, 1954 to February 8, 1974. The series was created by Roy Winsor, who also created the long-running soap operas Search for Tomorrow and Love of Life...
(1954–1974), The Edge of NightThe Edge of Night was a long-running American television mystery series/soap opera produced by Procter & Gamble. It debuted on CBS on April 2, 1956, and ran on that network until November 28, 1975; the series then moved to ABC, where it aired from December 1, 1975, until December 28, 1984...
(1956–1975), which later moved to ABC, and CapitolCapitol is an American soap opera which aired on CBS from March 29, 1982 to March 20, 1987 for 1270 episodes. As its name suggests, the storyline usually revolved around the political intrigues of people whose lives intertwined in Washington D.C.....
(1982–1987).
Notable daytime game shows that once aired on CBS include Match GameMatch Game is an American television game show featuring contestants attempting to match celebrities' answers to fill-in-the-blank questions...
(1973–1979), TattletalesTattletales was a game show which first aired on the CBS daytime schedule on February 18, 1974. It was hosted by Bert Convy, with several announcers Jack Clark , Gene Wood , Johnny Olson and John Harlan providing the voiceover at various...
(1974–1978 and 1982–1984), The $25,000 PyramidPyramid is the collective name of a series of American television game shows in which contestants tried to guess a series of words or phrases, based on descriptions that were given to them by their teammates. The title refers to the show's game board, featuring six categories arranged in a...
(1982–1988), Press Your LuckPress Your Luck is an American television daytime game show that ran weekdays on CBS from September 19, 1983 to September 26, 1986, where contestants collected "spins" by answering trivia questions and then used the spins on an 18-space game board full of cash and prizes. The person who amassed the...
(1983–1986), Card SharksCard Sharks is an American television game show created by Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions . Although various changes were made to the game's format throughout its run, the core format remained the same...
(1986–1989), and Family FeudFamily Feud is an American television game show that pits two families against each other in a contest to name the most popular responses to a survey-type question posed to 100 people...
(1988–1993). CBS games that also aired in prime time include Beat the ClockNot to be confused with a song of the same by Ghostface Killah, from his album The Pretty Toney Album.Beat the Clock is a Goodson-Todman game show which has aired on American television in several versions since 1950....
(1950–1958 and 1979–1980), To Tell the TruthTo Tell the Truth is an American television game show created by Bob Stewart and produced by Goodson-Todman Productions that has aired intermittently in various forms since 1956 on both networks and in syndication. Along with The Price Is Right, it is one of two game shows in the United States to...
(1956–1968) and Password
(1961–67, and a 2008 prime time revival). Two long-running primetime-only games were the panel shows What's My Line?What's My Line? is a weekly panel game show, which ran from 1950 to 1967, whose objective was to guess the unusual occupations of contestants. It is the longest-running game show in the history of prime time network television...
(1950–1967) and I've Got a SecretI've Got a Secret is a weekly panel game show produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman for CBS television. Created by comedy writers Allan Sherman and Howard Merrill, it was a derivative of Goodson-Todman's own panel show What's My Line?. The original version of the show premiered on June 19, 1952...
(1952–1968, 1976).
Children's programming
CBS broadcast the live action series Captain KangarooCaptain Kangaroo is a children's television series which aired weekday mornings on the American television network CBS from 1955 until 1984...
on weekday mornings from 1955 through 1982, and on Saturdays through 1984. From 1971 through 1986, the CBS News department produced one-minute In the NewsIn the News was a series of two-minute televised video segments that summarized topical news stories for children and pre-teens. The segments were broadcast in the United States on the CBS television network from 1971 until 1985, between Saturday morning animated cartoon programs, as were the...
segments broadcast between other Saturday morning programs. Otherwise, in regards to children's programming, CBS has aired mostly animated series for kids, such as the original version of Scooby-DooScooby-Doo is a long-running American animated series produced for Saturday morning television in several different versions from 1969 to the present. The original series, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, was created for Hanna-Barbera Productions by writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears, CBS executive Fred...
, Jim Henson's Muppet Babies
, Garfield and FriendsGarfield and Friends is an American animated television series based on the comic strip Garfield by Jim Davis. The show was produced by Film Roman, in association with United Feature Syndicate and Paws, Inc., and ran on CBS Saturday mornings from 1988 to 1994, and on Nickelodeon from 1997 to 2000...
and Teenage Mutant Ninja TurtlesTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is an joint-venture between American/Japanese animated television series produced by Murakami-Wolf-Swenson and Shogakukan Studios. It premiered December 28, 1987, first as a five-part mini-series animated by Toei...
. In 1997, CBS began broadcasting Wheel 2000
, and was broadcasting it simultaneously with GSNGSN is an American cable television and direct broadcast satellite channel dedicated to game shows and casino game shows. The channel was launched on December 1, 1994. Its slogan is "Play Every Day"...
.
In September, 1997, CBS began contracting out to other companies to provide programming and material for their Saturday morning schedule, The first of these special blocks was CBS Kidshow
, which featured programming from Canada's NelvanaNelvana Limited is a Canadian entertainment company, founded in 1971, known for its work in children's animation. It was named by founders Michael Hirsh, Patrick Loubert and Clive A. Smith after a Canadian comic book superheroine created by Adrian Dingle in the 1940s...
studio. It aired on CBS Saturday mornings from 1997 to 2000, with shows like AnatoleAnatole was an animated children's televisions series based on the Anatole book series by Eve Titus. The series tells the story of Anatole who lives in Paris. He works as a night watchman in a cheese factory. He has a wife, Doucette and a family of six little mice...
, Mythic WarriorsMythic Warriors was a Canadian-produced animated television series that was a fixture of CBS' Saturday-morning cartoon lineup...
,
Rescue HeroesRescue Heroes is a line of toys from Fisher-Price that was introduced in 1999. Rescue Heroes depicts various rescue personnel and their equipment. An animated television series has also been developed with the line of toys. In total, there are three seasons of the Rescue Heroes TV show...
, and Flying Rhino Junior HighFlying Rhino Junior High is a Canadian animated television series produced by Nelvana Limited. It originally aired from October 3, 1998 to January 22, 2000 on the CBS Kids Show. Reruns used to be shown on YTV....
. Its tagline was, "The CBS Kids Show: Get in the Act."
In 2000, CBS's deal with Nelvana ended; the CBS Kidshow
block was replaced with another block of programming from a network which, at the time, was in the same family as CBS — Nick Jr. on CBSNick Jr. on CBS was a Saturday morning children's programming block on CBS that began in September, 2000, replacing CBS Kidshow. This Saturday morning block presented programming from Nick Jr., which at the time shared common ownership with CBS under Viacom. The block was hosted by Face from Nick...
.
In 2002, CBS began a deal with NickelodeonNickelodeon is an American cable television channel owned by Viacom. Since the mid-1990s and early 2000s Nickelodoen as a brand has expanded into other territories including Europe, the Middle-East, Russia and Asia.It is often referred to by its shortened name, Nick, a practice that dates back to...
(owned by CBS's former parent company Viacom, which at one time was a subsidiary of CBS) to air its original programming under the banner Nick on CBS. In 2004, CBS changed the lineup by going for the somewhat undercourted preschool market by switching its lineup from programming from Nickelodeon back to Nick Jr. In 2006, after the Viacom-CBS split (as described above), CBS decided to discontinue the Nick Jr. lineup in favor of a lineup of programs produced by
DIC EntertainmentDIC Entertainment was an international American film and television production company which was founded in 1971 as DIC Audiovisuel by Jean Chalopin in Luxembourg, as a subsidiary of Radio-Television Luxembourg...
, as part of a three-year deal which includes distribution of selected Formula One auto races on tape delay.
In 2006 the Nick Jr. on CBS
block was replaced with KOL Secret Slumber Party on CBS
. In the inaugural line-up, two of the programs were new shows, one aired in syndication in 2005 and three were pre-2006 shows. In mid-2007, KOL withdrew sponsorship from CBS's Saturday Morning Block and the name was changed to KEWLopolis on CBS
. Complimenting CBS's 2007 line-up was Care BearsCare Bears are a set of characters created by American Greetings in 1981 for use on greeting cards. The original artwork for the cards was painted by artist Elena Kucharik. In 1983, Kenner turned the Care Bears into plush teddy bears....
, Strawberry ShortcakeStrawberry Shortcake is a licensed character owned by American Greetings, originally used in greeting cards and expanded to include dolls, posters, and other products...
, and Sushi PackSushi Pack was an American animated television series produced by DIC Entertainment and American Greetings, that aired on the KEWLopolis block on CBS. It featured a team of wasabi, salmon egg sushi, crab sushi, tuna sushi, and octopus sushi as they used their wits and their emotions to save the...
.
On June 20, 2008, it was announced that DIC Entertainment would be acquired by Cookie Jar Group. The deal was completed on July 23, 2008. On February 24, 2009, it was announced that CBS renewed its contract with Cookie Jar for another three seasons, through 2012. On September 19, 2009, KEWLopolis was re-branded as Cookie Jar TV.
Animated primetime holiday specials
CBS was the original broadcast network for the animated primetime holiday specials based on the comic strip
PeanutsPeanuts is a syndicated daily and Sunday comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz, which ran from October 2, 1950, to February 13, 2000 , continuing in reruns afterward...
, beginning with A Charlie Brown ChristmasA Charlie Brown Christmas is the first of many prime-time animated TV specials based upon the comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz. It was produced and directed by former Warner Bros. and UPA animator Bill Meléndez, who also supplied the voice for the character of Snoopy...
in 1965. Over thirty holiday Peanuts specials (each for a specific holiday such as HalloweenHalloween is an annual holiday celebrated on October 31. It has roots in the Gaelic pagan festival of Samhain and the Christian holy day of All Saints. It is largely a secular celebration but some have expressed strong feelings about perceived religious overtones...
) were broadcast on CBS from that time until 2000, when ABC acquired the broadcast rights. CBS also aired several primetime animated specials based on the work of Dr. SeussTheodor Seuss Geisel was an American writer and cartoonist most widely known for his children's books written under the pen name Dr. Seuss. He published over 60 children's books, which were often characterized by imaginative characters, rhyme, and frequent use of trisyllabic meter...
(Theodor Geisel), beginning with How the Grinch Stole ChristmasHow the Grinch Stole Christmas! is a 1966 American animated television special directed by Chuck Jones. It is based on the children's book of the same title by Dr. Seuss, the story of The Grinch trying to take away Christmas from the townsfolk below...
in 1966. Rudolph the Red-Nosed ReindeerRudolph the Red–Nosed Reindeer is a long-running Christmas television special produced in stop motion animation by Rankin/Bass. It first aired December 6, 1964 on the NBC television network in the USA, and was sponsored by General Electric under the umbrella title of The General Electric Fantasy...
, produced in
stop motionStop motion is an animation technique to make a physically manipulated object appear to move on its own. The object is moved in small increments between individually photographed frames, creating the illusion of movement when the series of frames is played as a continuous sequence...
by the
Rankin/BassRankin/Bass Productions, Inc. , also known as Rankin/Bass Animated Entertainment, was an American stop-motion production company, known for its seasonal television specials. With few exceptions, their library is currently owned by Classic Media and Warner Bros...
studio, has been another annual holiday staple of CBS since 1972, but that special originated on NBC in 1964.
All of these animated specials, from about 1972 until about the early 1990s, began with a fondly remembered opening animated logo which showed the words "A CBS Special Presentation" in colorful lettering. The word "SPECIAL", in multiple colors, slowly zoomed out from the frame in a spinning counterclockwise motion against a black background, and rapidly zoomed back into frame at the end; the logo was accompanied by a jazzy yet majestic up-tempo fanfare (believed to be incidental music from the CBS crime drama
Hawaii Five-OHawaii Five-O is an American television series that starred Jack Lord in the lead role for a fictional Hawaii state police department. The show ran for 12 seasons, from 1968 to 1980. The twelfth season was repackaged into syndication under the title McGarrett.-Overview:The CBS television network...
) with dramatic horns and percussion (this appeared at the beginning of all CBS specials of the period (such as the Miss USAThe Miss USA beauty contest has been held annually since 1952 to select the United States entrant in the Miss Universe pageant. The Miss Universe Organization operates both pageants, as well as Miss Teen USA.-History:...
pageants and the annual Kennedy Center HonorsThe Kennedy Center Honors is an annual honor given to those in the performing arts for theirlifetime of contributions to American culture. The Honors have been presented annually since 1978 in Washington, D.C., during gala weekend-long events which culminate in a performance for—and...
presentation), not just animated ones).
Classical music specials
CBS was also responsible for telecasting the celebrated series of Young People's ConcertsThe Young People's Concerts at the New York Philharmonic are the longest-running series of family concerts in the world, having begun in 1924 under the direction of "Uncle" Ernest Schelling. Earlier Family Matinees had begun as far back as 1885 under conductor Theodore Thomas. Josef Stransky...
conducted by
Leonard BernsteinLeonard Bernstein was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
. Telecast every few months between 1958 and 1972, first in black-and-white and then switching to color in 1966, these programs introduced millions of children to classical music through the eloquent commentaries by Maestro Bernstein. They were nominated for several
Emmy AwardThe Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards , Grammy Awards and Tony Awards .They are presented in various...
s, and were among the first programs ever broadcast from
Lincoln Center for the Performing ArtsLincoln Center for the Performing Arts is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of New York City.-Tenant organizations:Lincoln Center serves as home for 12 arts organizations:*Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center...
.
In December 1977, CBS was the first network to telecast
Mikhail BaryshnikovMikhail Nikolaevich Baryshnikov is a Soviet-born Russian American dancer, choreographer, and actor, often cited alongside Vaslav Nijinsky and Rudolf Nureyev as one of the greatest ballet dancers of the 20th century. After a promising start in the Kirov Ballet in Leningrad, he defected to Canada...
's production of The Nutcracker
, a version of the famous ballet that would become a television classic, and remains so today. The production later moved to PBSThe Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television service with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. However, its operations are largely funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting...
.
In April 1986, CBS presented Horowitz in Moscow
, a live piano recital by Vladimir HorowitzVladimir Samoylovich Horowitz was an Russian-American classical pianist and minor composer. His technique, use of tone color and the excitement of his playing were and remain legendary...
, arguably the greatest pianist of the twentieth century. It marked Horowitz's return to Russia after more than sixty years. The program was shown as an episode of the series CBS News Sunday MorningCBS News Sunday Morning is an American television news magazine program created by Robert Northshield and original presenter Charles Kuralt, and appearing continuously since January 28, 1979 on the CBS Television Network, airing in the Eastern US on Sunday from 9:00 to 10:30 am...
(9:00 A.M. in the U.S. is 4:00 P.M. in Russia). It was so successful that CBS repeated it a mere two months later.
International broadcasts
CBS programmes are shown outside the US. For instance, CBS News is shown for a few hours a day on satellite channel
Orbit NewsOrbit News is network of three 24 hour satellite and cable channels offering exclusivly American news programming to viewers abroad, primarily geared towards an Arab audience...
in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. The CBS Evening News is shown in the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and Italy on
Sky NewsSky News is a 24 hour international news service with an emphasis on UK and international news stories.The service places emphasis on rolling news, including the latest breaking news. Sky News also hosts localised versions of the channel in Australia and in New Zealand. Sky News previously operated...
, despite the fact that Sky is part of
News CorporationNews Corporation is the world's second largest media conglomerate as of 2008 and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009...
(owners of
Fox News ChannelThe Fox News Channel , commonly referred to as Fox or Fox News, is a major American cable news and satellite channel owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of News Corporation. As of April 2009, it is available to 102 million households in the U.S...
).
In Australia,
Network TenNetwork Ten, or Channel Ten, is one of Australia's three major commercial television networks. Owned-and-operated stations can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, while affiliates extend the network to cover most of the country...
has an output deal with CBS Paramount giving them rights to carry the programs
JerichoJericho is an American serial drama that centers on the residents of the fictional town of Jericho, Kansas in the aftermath of nuclear attacks on 23 major cities in the contiguous United States...
,
Dr. PhilDr. Phil is a television show hosted by Phil McGraw. After McGraw's success with his segments on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Dr. Phil debuted on September 16, 2002...
,
Late Show with David LettermanLate Show with David Letterman is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and is produced by Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants Incorporated. The show's music director and bandleader of the house band, the CBS Orchestra,...
, NCIS
NCIS , is an American police procedural drama television series revolving around a fictional team of special agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, which conducts criminal investigations involving the U.S...
and Numb3rsNumb3rs is an American television drama, which premiered on January 23, 2005 on CBS. The series was created by Nicolas Falacci and Cheryl Heuton, and follows FBI Special Agent Don Eppes and his mathematical genius brother, Charlie Eppes , who helps Don solve crimes for the FBI...
as well access to stories from 60 Minutes60 Minutes is an American investigative television newsmagazine, which has run on CBS since 1968. The program was created by long time producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation. It has been among the top-rated TV programs for much of its life,...
(the rights of which have been sold to the Nine NetworkThe Nine Network, or Channel Nine, is an Australian television network based in Willoughby, a suburb on the North Shore of Sydney. For nearly 40 years between 1956 and 2005, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
which broadcasts their own 60 Minutes).
In
BermudaBermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, it is situated around 1,770 kilometres northeast of Miami, Florida, and 1,350 kilometres south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada...
, there is a CBS affiliate owned by the state-run
Bermuda Broadcasting CompanyThe Bermuda Broadcasting Company is the largest broadcasting company in Bermuda. The BBC is a purely commercial network, and there is no equivalent in Bermuda to PBS or the UK's BBC....
using the callsign
ZBMZBM-TV is a television station serving Hamilton and the British territory of Bermuda. It is owned by Bermuda Broadcasting Company and is an affiliate of United States television network CBS...
.
In Canada, CBS, like all major American TV networks, is carried in the basic program package of all cable and satellite providers. The broadcast is shown almost exactly the same in Canada as in the United States. However, CBS's programming on Canadian cable and satellite systems are subject to the practice of "
simsubbingSimultaneous substitution is a sometimes controversial practice mandated by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission requiring Canadian cable, direct broadcast satellite and multichannel multipoint distribution service television distribution companies to substitute a local...
", in which a signal of a Canadian station is placed over CBS's signal, if the programming at that time is the same. As well, many Canadians live close enough to a major American city to pick up the over the air broadcast signal of an American CBS affiliate with an antenna.
In Hong Kong, CBS evening news is aired live in the early morning and the local networks have an agreement to rebroadcast sections 12 hours later to fill up the local news programs when they have insufficient content to report.
CBS Evening News is seen in the Philippines via satellite on Q-TV (a sister network of broadcaster GMA) while The Early show is shown in that country on the Lifestyle Network. Studio 23 and Maxx, channels owned by broadcaster ABS-CBN in the Philippines show the Late Show with David Letterman.
Criticism
In 1982, the network aired the documentary
The Uncounted Enemy: A Vietnam DeceptionThe Uncounted Enemy: A Vietnam Deception was a controversial television documentary aired as part of the CBS Reports series on January 23, 1982...
, asserting
GeneralIn the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, general is a four-star general officer rank, with the pay grade of O-10. General ranks above lieutenant general and below General of the Army or General of the Air Force; the Marine Corps does not have an...
William WestmorelandWilliam Childs Westmoreland was an American General who commanded American military operations in the Vietnam War at its peak from 1964 to 1968, with the Tet Offensive. He had adopted a strategy of attrition against the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army. He later served as U.S. Army Chief of...
deliberately misled the public about the
Vietnam WarThe Vietnam War or the Second Indochina War was a Cold War military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1959 to 30 April 1975...
in order to maintain public support. Westmoreland filed a 120 million dollar libel suit that was ultimately settled in exchange for an on-air clarification. However, an internal study found that the documentary had violated CBS News Standards.
In 1995, CBS refused to air a segment of 60 Minutes that would have featured an interview with a former president of research and development for Brown & Williamson, the nation's third largest tobacco company. The controversy raised questions about the legal roles in decision making and whether journalistic standards should be compromised despite legal pressures and threats. The decision nevertheless sent shock waves throughout the television industry, the journalism community, and the country.
In 2001,
Bernard GoldbergBernard Richard Goldberg , also known as Bernie Goldberg, is a ten-time Emmy Award Winning American writer, journalist, and political commentator...
, who was a reporter with CBS for 28 years, had his book, Bias: A CBS Insider Exposes How the Media Distort the News, published. This book heavily criticized the media, and some CBS reporters and news anchors in particular, such as
Dan RatherDaniel Irvin "Dan" Rather, Jr. is a journalist and former news anchor for the CBS Evening News and is now managing editor and anchor of a television news magazine, Dan Rather Reports, on the cable channel HDNet. Rather was anchor of the CBS Evening News for 24 years, from March 9, 1981, to March...
. Goldberg, a libertarian, accused CBS of having a liberal bias in most of their news.
In 2004, the
FCCThe Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, directed, and empowered by Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President...
imposed a record $550,000 fine on CBS for its broadcast of a
Super BowlThe Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League, the premier association of professional American football. In most years, the Super Bowl is the most-watched American television broadcast. Many popular singers and musicians have performed during the event’s pre-game and...
half-time showSuper Bowl XXXVIII, which was broadcast live on February 1, 2004 from Houston, Texas on the CBS television network in the United States, was noted for a controversial halftime show in which Janet Jackson's breast, adorned with a nipple shield, was exposed by Justin Timberlake for about half a...
(produced by then sister-unit MTV) in which singer
Janet JacksonJanet Damita Jo Jackson is an American recording artist and actress. Born in Gary, Indiana, and raised in Encino, Los Angeles, California, she is the youngest child of the Jackson family of musicians...
's breast was briefly exposed. It was the largest fine ever for a violation of federal decency laws. Following the incident CBS apologized to its viewers and denied foreknowledge of the event, which was broadcast live on TV. In 2008 a Philadelphia federal court annulled the fine imposed on CBS, labelling it "arbitrary and capricious".
CBS suffered another embarrassment in September of that year, when the network aired a controversial episode of
60 Minutes60 Minutes is an American investigative television newsmagazine, which has run on CBS since 1968. The program was created by long time producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation. It has been among the top-rated TV programs for much of its life,...
, which questioned
U.S. PresidentThe President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in the United States by influence and recognition...
George W. BushGeorge Walker Bush was the 43rd President of the United States from 2001 to 2009 and the 46th Governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000....
's service in the National Guard. Following allegations of
forgeryForgery is the process of making, adapting, or imitating objects, statistics, or documents , with the intent to deceive. The similar crime of fraud is the crime of deceiving another, including through the use of objects obtained through forgery...
, CBS News admitted that documents used in the story had not been properly authenticated. The following January, CBS fired four people connected to the preparation of the news-segment.
Former network news anchor
Dan RatherDaniel Irvin "Dan" Rather, Jr. is a journalist and former news anchor for the CBS Evening News and is now managing editor and anchor of a television news magazine, Dan Rather Reports, on the cable channel HDNet. Rather was anchor of the CBS Evening News for 24 years, from March 9, 1981, to March...
has filed a $70 million lawsuit against CBS, contending the story, and his termination, were mishandled.
In 2006, CBS announced it would air only three of its NFL games per week in high definition. The move created some outrage among fans, with some accusing the network of being "cheap." See main article: NFL on CBS HDTV coverage
In 2007, retired Army Major Gen.
John BatisteMajor General John Batiste is a retired officer of the United States Army.From March 2001 to June 2002 he worked with Paul Wolfowitz, and was involved in the very early planning stages of the Iraq war...
, consultant to
CBS NewsCBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. Its current president is Sean McManus who is also head of CBS Sports...
, appeared in a political ad for
VoteVets.orgVoteVets.org is organized as a non-partisan political action committee and non-profit 501 status in the United States. It was co-founded in 2006 by Jon Soltz and Jeremy Broussard....
critical of President Bush and the war in Iraq.
Two days later, CBS stated that appearing in the ad violated Batiste's contract with them and the agreement was terminated.
Partnership
CBS is partner with
WetpaintWetpaint is a company that provides social network service and wiki hosting service . Wetpaint was founded in October 2005. Site URLs are often a subdomain of "wetpaint.com", but custom URLs are also available...
, a wiki farm company. CBS also has engaged in "egg-vertising", a campaign in the Fall of 2006 which etched television advertisements in 35 million eggs across North America.
See also
- CBS Radio
CBS Radio Inc., formerly known as Infinity Broadcasting Corporation, is one of the largest owners and operators of radio stations in the United States, fourth behind main rival Clear Channel Communications , Cumulus Media and Citadel Broadcasting...
- CBS Radio Network
The CBS Radio Network provides news, sports and other programming to more than 1,000 radio stations throughout the United States. The network is owned by the CBS Corporation, and operated by CBS Corporation's CBS Radio Inc...
- CBS Cable
CBS Cable was an early cable network operated by CBS, Inc., dedicated to the lively arts . It debuted in October 1981 and ceased operations on December 17, 1982.-As a network:...
, the company's early (and abortive) foray into cable broadcasting.
- CBS Kidshow
- CBS News
CBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. Its current president is Sean McManus who is also head of CBS Sports...
- CBS Daytime
CBS Daytime is a television programming block on CBS.-Executives:Lucy Johnson served as President of CBS-D from 1989 - 2003. CBSD's current Senior Vice President is Barbara Bloom, her Vice President is Michelle Newman. Newman was appointed CBS-D vice president in May 2008. Bloom reports to Nina...
- CBS Television Stations
The CBS Television Stations are a group of television stations owned by CBS Corporation. As of 2009, CBS Corporation owns 28 stations, broken down as follows: 14 are the key stations of the CBS Television Network; nine are aligned with the CW Television Network, which is co-owned by CBS with Time...
- CBS Sports
CBS Sports is a division of CBS which airs many of the sports telecasts in the United States.CBS Sports broadcasts programs like NFL on CBS, The NFL Today, Southeastern Conference football, NCAA basketball, PGA golf, and professional tennis....
- CBS Mobile
CBS Mobile is a division of CBS Interactive Inc. charged with building CBS Corporation's wireless business across entertainment, sports and news for CBS, The CW, and CBS Paramount Television...
- CBS Studio Center
CBS Studio Center is a television and film studio located in the Studio City district of Los Angeles in the San Fernando Valley. It is located at 4024 Radford Avenue and takes up a triangular piece of land, with the Los Angeles River bisecting the site...
- CBS Television City
CBS Television City is a television studio located in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles at 7800 Beverly Boulevard, at the corner of Beverly and Fairfax Avenue...
- CBS Television Distribution
CBS Television Distribution is a global television distribution company, a merger of CBS Corporation's three television distribution arms CBS Paramount Domestic Television, CBS Paramount International Television, and King World Productions including its home entertainment arm CBS Home Entertainment...
- CBS Productions
CBS Productions was the production arm of the CBS television network now a part of CBS Corporation, formed in 1952 to produce shows in-house, instead of relying solely on outside productions. Its first production was CBS Television Workshop, a drama anthology series...
- The CW Television Network
The CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...
- List of assets owned by CBS
- List of CBS slogans
- List of CBS affiliates, arranged by market
- List of CBS affiliates, arranged by state
- List of programs broadcast by CBS
- List of shows previously aired by CBS
- Westmoreland v. CBS
Westmoreland v. CBS was a $120 million libel suit brought by former U.S. Army Chief of Staff General William Westmoreland against CBS Television for the televising of a documentary entitled The Uncounted Enemy: A Vietnam Deception, narrated by the investigative reporter, Mike Wallace. It was shown...
External links