Chronology
This chronology is indicative only. It covers -
- antecedents (1927)
- beginnings (1928)
- the golden age of television? (1946)
- diversification (1966)
- back to basics (1985)
- acquired by Westinghouse (1995)
- engulfed by Viacom (1999)
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
Biversification
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
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 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 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
2006 Viacom spins off broadcast, themepark, publishing and some cable tv interests as CBS Corporation
2006 Cedar Fair agrees to buy Paramount Parks Inc. for US$1.24bn