This story is about the television network, which during its existence was able to achieve great success and, thus, enter the so-called “Big Three” of the best US television networks. Find out more about CBS at manhattan-future.
Foundation of the network
CBS Broadcasting Inc. or CBS is an American commercial television network, which is owned by Paramount Global company. The network is headquartered in the CBS building at 51 West 52nd Street in Manhattan.
The history of the CBS television network began with the ambitious impresario of the New York Philharmonic and Philadelphia Orchestra Arthur Judson, who aimed to popularize classical music by broadcasting the orchestra’s performances. To implement the plan, at the end of 1920, he appealed to the NBC television and radio company with a request to realize this idea. At that time, it was the only broadcasting company in the United States. However, NBC refused him. This did not stop Arthur and, moreover, in 1927, gave impetus to the creation of his own television and radio company under the name United Independent Broadcasters, Inc. (UIB). The newly created company needed funds to exist. Thus, Judson soon found a wealthy partner in the Columbia Phonograph company, which later bought the rights to this network and called it the Columbia Phonograph Broadcasting System. However, their partnership did not last long. Columbia Phonograph soon returned the property rights to the previous owner. That is why Judson sold the network again in early 1928, this time to brothers Isaac and Leon Levy, who owned the Philadelphia branch of WCAU and their partner, Jerome Louchheim. The president of the network was the American journalist William S. Paley, under whose leadership the company became one of the largest radio networks and then one of the three largest broadcast television networks in the United States. William somewhat simplified the name of the network, renaming it the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS).
At the beginning of his leadership, the CBS radio network had only 16 affiliated radio stations. However, thanks to his fruitful and wise work, CBS already had about 100 stations ten years later. The financial situation of the network also improved. Already in 1930, the total profit of the company was about $7.2 million.
The emergence and development of television broadcasting
CBS began broadcasting on July 21, 1931, when an experimental W2XAB station was opened in New York. The first broadcast was attended by the New York mayor James Walker, Kate Smith and George Gershwin. The first station conducted a regular seven-day broadcast for 28 hours a week. On August 28, 1940, CBS held its first color broadcast in the United States. CBS was constantly developing in the direction of television broadcasting, but the NBC network still remained a direct competitor. So in subsequent years, there was a kind of struggle for primacy. In general, during this period, programs such as The Beverly Hillbillies, Mister Ed, The Munsters, 60 Minutes, All in the Family, The Waltons and the like were released.
In 1995, the CBS network was bought by the Westinghouse Electric Corporation, which later renamed it to the modern name CBS Broadcasting Inc. The company itself took the network name and became known as CBS Corporation. Already in 2000, CBS was purchased by the new owner of the media giant Viacom Inc.
After the 2000ies, a new reality show format appeared on CBS, which significantly increased the rating performance of the television network. Firstly, such a show was called Survivor. Films such as Joan of Arcadia, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Cold Case and the like were no less successful.
It is worth noting that in 2019, CBS Corporation and Viacom merged to create a joint company Paramount Global, which currently operates the network.
Taking into consideration our times, the American television network CBS continues to hold a leading position and releases programs such as Lingo, Superfan, Lotería Loca, Raid the Cage, Comics Unleashed, CBS Mornings, CBS News, as well as films such as Fire Country, Ghosts, Bob Hearts Abishola, FBI: International, NCIS: Hawaiʻi and the like.
