CBS Radio Name Change Coming With Spin-Off

CBS expects to sign a joint digital services agreement which will allow CBS Local Digital Media to continue operating the websites for 40 CBS Radio news and sports-formatted radio stations which are jointly packaged with sister CBS-TV properties. According to InsideRadio, this is one of the new details being publicly shared as CBS Radio advances toward a likely split of the 117-station radio group from its parent company.

In an updated filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, CBS says the two companies will still have post spin-off ties. “We will share advertising revenue generated on the market-focused local websites in our markets with CBS,” the filing says. “We believe this joint digital services agreement will allow us to benefit from the powerful CBS brand, including CBS’s existing local audience and operational scale in our markets.” CBS Radio will however stop generating revenue from other joint ventures within the conglomerate which generated $3.1 million during the first half of the year.

For all that will remain the same, other elements are certain to change—none more front and center than the name of the company. After the spin-off is finalized CBS Radio will be required to rebrand itself without the CBS name. It’s a move similar to CBS Outdoor, which became Outfront Media after it was spun-off.

The filing says the radio arm will also need to sign several intellectual property license agreements with CBS to continue using the heritage call letters on radio stations that are also used by local television stations, such as WCBS in New York and KCBS in Los Angeles and San Francisco. And the radio company will also need to license the CBS brand for use on the syndicated CBS Sports Radio Network.

CBS is currently planning a two-step spin-off that will see the radio division file an IPO in the first quarter of 2017, followed by a complete split from CBS in the second half of next year. The company has however left open the door to “other potential alternatives,” according to chief executive Les Moonves. “Our strategy is to maximize the value of this asset,” he added during a recent conference call with analysts.

Ahead of the spin-off, revenue at CBS Radio has declined 3% to $471.3 million during the first six months of 2016. CBS says a 3% drop in local revenue is the result of weakness in the New York, Chicago and Detroit markets.

The filing also reveals that CBS Radio isn’t currently considering any additional station spin-offs or acquisitions.