Westinghouse sticks with Eye
As expected, Westinghouse has chosen CBS Corp. as the new name of its media businesses following the spinoff of its industrial assets, expected by mid-year.
The new CBS Corp. will include television, radio and cable divisions, all based in New York, while the industrial businesses will take the Westinghouse Electric name and remain in Pittsburgh. CBS will retain the famous Eye logo, and Westinghouse will keep its stylized W.
Broadcasting unit
The television unit will consist of the CBS network, its owned-and-operated stations and CBS Enterprises, which includes CBS Intl. and the Eyemark Entertainment syndication unit. The radio division comprises the 79 CBS and Infinity radio stations along with the CBS radio network and the TDI outdoor advertising company. And the cable unit includes Group W Satellite Communications, which owns Eye on People and TeleNoticias webs and manages Country Music Television and the Nashville Network for Gaylord Entertainment.
Stick with a winner
"Our new media corporation combines three great broadcasting brands --- CBS, Group W and Infinity," said chairman-CEO Michael Jordan, who will remain with CBS following the spinoff. "As we considered a range of alternative corporate names ... the advice always came back: Keep the name that has been known as a leader of the broadcasting industry from its earliest days."
But the company will have a harder time sticking with the former CBS Inc.'s old New York Stock Exchange ticker symbol: CBS. With Westinghouse's acquisition in November 1995, Cort Business Systems grabbed the symbol as its own, and execs there reportedly are hoping to snare some Eye web coin for releasing it.
