WTAG leaves CBS for Fox

[Doug Drown]

NBC Radio continues to exist, but only to the extent that it offers Meet the
Press and a very brief (one minute!) hourly newscast reported mostly by NBC
News anchors.  WTKK carries it in Boston.

I read the other day that Robert Wright, the former head of NBC, now
realizes that GE made a huge mistake when it leased off the network and sold
its radio O&Os.  Westwood One's 20-year contract with GE ends this year.  It
will be interesting to see what happens.

In the waning days of the actual NBC Radio Network newscasts, when WW1 had
reduced the schedule to 6-10am weekdays, the newscasts were actually being
done by CBS anchors.  William Paley and David Sarnoff must have turned over
in their graves.

-Doug


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Garrett Wollman" <wollman@csail.mit.edu>
To: "A. Joseph Ross" <Joe@attorneyross.com>
Cc: <boston-Radio-Interest@rolinin.BostonRadio.org>
Sent: Tuesday, February 13, 2007 4:18 PM
Subject: Re: WTAG leaves CBS for Fox


> <<On Tue, 13 Feb 2007 15:20:55 -0500, "A. Joseph Ross"
<Joe@attorneyross.com> said:
>
> > I thought the NBC radio network was discontinued a few years ago.  In
> > its last days, it had been bought by Westwood One, which was bought
> > by CBS or by something that was bought by CBS, and NBC radio news,
> > along with Mutual news, was originating from the CBS newsroom.
>
> To quote from Westwood One's most recent SEC 10-K filing:
>
> > Westwood One is managed by CBS Radio Inc. (CBS Radio; previously
> > known as Infinity Broadcasting Corporation (Infinity)), a
> > wholly-owned subsidiary of CBS Corporation, pursuant to a management
> > agreement between the Company and CBS Radio (then Infinity) which
> > expires on March 31, 2009 (the Management Agreement).
>
> > In addition to the Management Agreement described above, the Company
> > also enters into other transactions with CBS Radio and affiliates of
> > CBS Radio, including Viacom, in the normal course of business. Such
> > arrangements include a representation agreement (including a related
> > news programming agreement, a license agreement and a technical
> > services agreement with an affiliate of CBS Radio collectively
> > referred to in this report as the Representation Agreement) to
> > operate the CBS Radio Networks, affiliation agreements with many of
> > CBS Radios radio stations and the purchase of programming rights
> > from CBS Radio and affiliates of CBS Radio.
>
> This is all described in eye-glazing detail on Westwood One's 2002
> proxy statement
>
<http://edgar.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/771950/000077195002000008/proxy.tx
t>
>
> Westwood One founder Norm Pattiz controls about 25% of the voting
> interest in the company and is its chairman.  CBS seems to have about
> 15% and employs Westwood's CEO and CFO.
>
> -GAWollman
>