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landmarks
This chronology is indicative only. It covers -
Context is provided by the broader communications and
media timeline on this site
and by the related profiles regarding Westinghouse
and Viacom.
antecedents
1853
Steinway & Sons founded
1890
Columbia Phonograph founded
1927
music agent Arthur Judson creates United Independent Broadcasters
(UIB) with 16 stations, with support from William Paley
of La Palina Cigar and Columbia Phonograph
beginnings
1927 UIB restructured as Columbia Phonograph Broadcasting
System (CPBS) with 16 affiliate stations
1928
restructured as Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) with
47 affiliate stations. Paley acquires major stake
1939 CBS buys WKRC Cincinnati
1932 NBC and CBS allow prices to be mentioned in radio
commercials
1938 CBS buys Columbia Records (formed 1889)
1939 CBS sells WKRC to Taft
1940 CBS demonstrates color television in New York
1941 first commercial black & white television broadcast
in New York
1949 buys KCBS San Francisco
1951 first coast to coast live tv in US
1958 buys WCAU Philadelphia (founded 1922) from Philadelphia
Bulletin Publishing Co
diversification
1966
buys toy business
1963 CBS Records sets up first European branch, in UK
1965 CBS buys New York Yankees
1966 establishes Cinema Center Films
1968 CBS-Sony Records founded in
Japan as a joint venture
1972
CBS buys Steinway & Sons
1973 sells New York Yankees for US$8.7m
1981 Westinghouse Broadcasting
& Cable buys TelePrompter cable tv group
1982 Tri-Star Pictures formed by CBS, HBO
(Home Box Office) and Columbia
Pictures
1984 CBS buys 33% stake in SportsChannel regional sports
networks with Washington Post
1984 buys Ziff-Davis consumer
magazines
1984 Trintex videotext service joint venture established
by IBM, CBS and Sears Roebuck (becomes Prodigy online
service provider in 1988)
back to basics
1985 Ted Turner, Jesse Helms and
Ivan Boesky make unsuccessful bids for CBS
1985 CBS sells St Louis tv station to Viacom
1985 sells general books division of Holt Rinehart Winston
1985
sells Steinway & Sons for US$48m
1985 sells 33% of TriStar Pictures
1986 cigarette, tobacco, cinema and insurance conglomerate
Loews buys 25% stake in CBS
1986 CBS sells stake in Trintex, later acquired by AOL
1987 CBS book publishing arm sold for US$500m
1986 music publishing arm sold for US$125m
1987 stake in SportsChannel sold
1988 CBS records sold to Sony for
US$2bn
1988 CBS buys WCIX from TVX
acquired by Westinghouse
1995 Westinghouse Electric
buys CBS
1996 CBS buys Infinity radio broadcasting and outdoor
advertising group for US$4.7bn
1997 Westinghouse Electric changes name to CBS and sells
traditional businesses such as power-generation equipment
and light bulbs
1997 CBS buys American Radio Systems chain for US$2.6
billion, increasing its radio stations to 175
1998 CBS sells 17% of Infinity Broadcasting for US$2.9bn
1998 sells WEEI-AM, WRKO-AM, WWTM-AM, WAAF-FM and WEGQ-FM
in Boston to Entercom
1998 buys WYUU-FM and WLLD-FM in Tampa from Entercom
1999 CBS buys King World Productions, leading television
program syndicator, for US$2.5bn
1999 CBS SportsLine pays US$46m for Commissioner.com
1999 Infinity buys Outdoor Systems billboard group for
US$8.7bn
engulfed by Viacom
1999
Viacom buys CBS for US$50 billion
- see more detailed Viacom chronology
and disgorged
2006 Viacom spins off broadcast, theme park, publishing
and some cable tv interests as CBS Corporation
2006 Cedar Fair agrees to buy Paramount Parks Inc. for
US$1.24bn
2007 CBS pays US$280m for music and social networking
site Last.fm
2007 sells WUPL-TV in New Orleans to Belo
2008 CBS, Robert Redford and NBC
Universal sell Sundance Channel to Cablevision
for US$496m
related page (Viacom
chronology)
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