Couric Isn't Leaving CBS Anytime Soon...

Early Morning television was designed for someone like Katie Couric, not hard hitting headline news. While I do think she has some talent and her one on one interviews are often great, the headline news crowd is not one for Katie Couric.

TVWeek is reporting that she is staying through the end of her contract which is over in 2011. I don't expect that to happen though as we typically see networks get antsy months in advance.

I think it's safe to say that the experiment hasn't worked out so well....

CBS's Layoffs Signal Slow Market in '08

CBS's announced layoffs last week is another signal that the market is slow in 2008. While some stations have reported an increase in revenues, such as NBC, CBS reported large losses.

The interesting take on this though is CBS cut staff in their news department. In fact they recently let go some prominent news anchors which viewers are left to scratch their heads about.

"The message being sent is, if you succeed in your job, you succeed in your craft, look out! You're too expensive," said Tom Petner, a former local broadcasting executive who edits TVSpy.com's ShopTalk, a daily industry newsletter. "I think it's shameful, because in the end the viewer loses out."

Click here to read the full article at LA Times.com

CBS Creates New Ad Sales Division

CBS has recently developed a new ad sales division to speak directly to agencies about content and advertising integration. The division will work closely with ad agencies to speak their language and give more opportunities on the client side.

Instead of a program going through development and then presenting strict advertising and content guidelines to the client, CBS will now engage in discussions much earlier in the process which will allow for more creative ad options and initiatives.

Click here to read the full article at Adage.com

CBS Cuts Felt Company Wide

CBS announced today that they will move forward with job cuts of about 1% of the company, or 1,200 total employees mostly in news operations at their owned and operated network stations in major markets such as San Francisco, Boston, and New York. The cuts are partly blamed to a declining stock in Q4 as well as declining revenues across all stations after a weak Q1.

Most of the trimming appears to be done in the news departments where the Early Show has lost a few employees as well as main stay on-air talent at many networks.

Click here to read the full article at the NY Times.

CBS Striking Out With Advertisers Over Kid Nation

CBS is not having much luck with their new reality series, "Kid Nation." Over half of their top ten advertisers have already taken a pass on the show that is already beeing seen as controversial. Kid Nation is a program that features 40 kids between the ages of 8-15 who are stuck in a remote location where they are forced to build their own society. Does it sound like something you want your brand associated with?

Click here to read the article.