Moonves: CBS Still In Radio... For Now

Les Moonves

LES MOONVES told the MERRILL LYNCH Fall Media Preview in MARINA DEL REY that CBS intends to remain in the radio business, but that "I suppose it's possible" that the company could sell its radio stations at some point. MARKETWATCH reports that MOONVES, CBS' CEO, noted that radio generates income that allows the company to pay a dividend. 

He discussed the company's plans to sell off 50 more radio stations in medium and small markets and the previous sale of 40 stations in 2007, joking, "I think if I'd listened to people who said, 'LES, don't sell off the radio stations in the smaller markets, don't sell them and use the proceeds to invest in the Internet,' I think I would've been dead."

MOONVES said that he has "guarded optimism" that local advertising revenues in radio and television will rebound and that national ad revenues are still "strong." He said that the automotive category for next year can't be "any worse than it is today. And we're starting to see the beginning of a comeback in some of our categories. I believe a lot of the categories will come back."

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