Reviving CBS - The Leslie Moonves Way


Reviving CBS - The Leslie Moonves Way
Case Code: BSTR232
Case Length: 19 Pages
Period: 1990-2006
Pub Date: 2006
Teaching Note: Available
Price: Rs.400
Organization: CBS Television
Industry: Media, Entertainment and Gaming
Countries: US
Themes: Leadership, Revival, Competition, Trends
Reviving CBS - The Leslie Moonves Way
Abstract Case Intro 1 Case Intro 2 Excerpts

"Watching the triumph of CBS is a little like seeing your grandmother dump your grandfather, get a tummy tuck...and start dating guys younger than you."

- James PonieWozik, Columnist with Time, on the turnaround of CBS, in 2005.

"One or two little mistakes, and you're no longer No. 1. I'm always looking at what can go wrong instead of what can go right."

- Leslie Moonves, President and CEO of CBS Corporation, in 2005.

Winner Again !

CBS Television emerged as the most popular television network in the US according to television rankings for the season 2005-06. The ranking released by Nielsen Media Research in May 2006 put CBS ahead of rivals FOX Broadcasting Company (FOX), American Broadcasting Company (ABC) and NBC Television Network (NBC) for the fourth consecutive year. In the same season, CBS was also the most popular network in the Thursday night prime time5 slot - a slot dominated by NBC in the period between the mid-1980s and early 2000s. CBS' revenues grew by five percent in the year 2005 (Refer Table I for revenue details of the four networks for the year 2004 and 2005). CBS was the flagship television channel of the CBS Corporation, formed in December 2005 after Viacom was split into Viacom Inc., and CBS Corporation. CBS was in deep trouble between the late 1980s and early 1990s due to managerial mismanagement under President, Chairman and CEO Laurence Tisch (Tisch) who reportedly looked after his own interests at the cost of CBS.

He sold off CBS' assets such as the recording division and neglected the radio division completely. At this time, CBS' television network aired shows that appealed only to old people and those in rural areas, and with such limited audiences, they often ranked at the bottom in television rankings. All this changed with the entry of Leslie Moonves (Moonves) who joined as President of CBS Entertainment in 1995. Under his leadership, CBS gradually transformed its television programming to appeal to all sections of the TV watching public. With reality shows such as Survivor, and shows such as Crime Scene Investigation (CSI), CBS became the most watched broadcast network in the US in 2002 and continued to dominate even in 2006...

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