Westinghouse Electric Corp. will spin off its industrial
assets into a separate company "to become a pure broadcasting
entity, with CBS as its flagship property," according to Sallie
Hofmeister of the L.A. TIMES. Although Hoffmeister notes some
analysts predict CBS could become the "subject of a takeover by a
studio in need of distribution, such as MCA or Sony" (L.A. TIMES,
11/14). "NBR's" Scott Gurvey noted the broadcasting division is
worth $4.3B and consists primarily of CBS, Group W Satellite and
Infinity Broadcasting. Gurvey: "There is of course the question
of what to call the broadcast company. Jordan said the decision
has not been made and focus groups would be held. There is, of
course, one obvious choice, CBS" ("NBR," PBS, 11/13). David
Londoner, media analyst, Schroder Wertheim: "Disney/Cap Cities
ABC is far more integrated in terms of cable, in terms of
production and in terms of being able to cross market among all
of their different media and entertainment activities. That's
something that Westinghouse /CBS is going to lack for a while"
("Moneyline," CNN, 11/13). Jordan declined to comment on rumors
Westinghouse will buy the cable and country music company,
Gaylord Entertainment (Aeppel & Jensen, WALL STREET JOURNAL,
11/14).
