Waterworth+A+Strategy+Report

Waterworth A

Below you will find my strategy report which I have assembled on CBS.com for the Proximity video team.

TO: Proximity Video team FROM: Amanda Waterworth DATE: May 7, 2010 SUBJECT: CBS.com strategy analysis

CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System, so named in 1929 was once considered to be the “Tiffany Network”. It is said by some that today it resembles Wal-Mart. I take that to mean that to compete in today’s marketplace, a company has to be versatile and multi-dimensional. I believe that describes the CBS network. What started out as a media network that merged with a phonograph company, CBS has built itself into a conglomerate that is capable of morphing to stay competitive in a modern market. Case-in-point is the fact that CBS has created //Social Rooms// a virtual environment where viewers can "join family, friends and fellow fans and watch your favorite episodes of your favorite shows together." The hit CBS comedy, //How I Met Your Mother // weaves real blogs into their storyline, further blurring the lines between TV and the web. (Business Industry Inc.) Profile ** CBS Corporation (NYSE: CBS.A and CBS) is a mass media company with constituent parts that reach back to the beginnings of the broadcast industry, as well as newer businesses that operate on the leading edge of the media industry. The Company, through its many and varied operations, combines broad reach with well-positioned local businesses, all of which provide it with an extensive distribution network by which it serves audiences and advertisers in all 50 states and key international markets. It has operations in virtually every field of media and entertainment, including broadcast television (CBS and UPN), cable television (Showtime and CSTV Networks), local television (CBS Television Stations), television production and syndication (CBS Paramount Television and King World), radio (CBS Radio), advertising on out-of-home media (CBS Outdoor), theme parks (Paramount Parks), digital media (CBS Digital Media Group and CSTV Networks) and consumer products (CBS Consumer Products). (cbscorporation.com). The Publishing segment consists of Simon & Schuster, which publishes and distributes consumer books under imprints, such as Simon & Schuster, Pocket Books, Scribner and Free Press. (Google Finance)
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Consumer spending drives demand. The profitability of individual companies depends on creativity, marketing, and distribution. Large companies often have the advantages of long-term contracts with key actors and directors, a permanent staff of technical employees, and wide distribution networks. Small companies can compete successfully by creating marketable movies, often for niche audiences, on low budgets. Although production work is labor-intensive, the value of the product results in high average annual industry revenue of $300,000 per employee. (Hoover's Inc., 2010)
 * Competitive Landscape**

The forensic evidence shows this company is tops in the TV ratings. A unit of CBS Corporation, CBS Broadcasting operates the CBS Television Network, the #1 the US. Its top shows include CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and its two spin-offs, as well as NCIS and a host of prime time comedy shows. The network boasts more than 200 affiliate stations around the nation. CBS Broadcasting also oversees 50%-owned The CW Network (a joint venture with Time Warner's Warner Bros. Entertainment) and production and distribution operations including CBS Television Distribution Group. In addition, CBS owns and operates about 30 TV stations across the country.

CBS seems to have weathered the test of time with the policy of diversification. From its beginnings in radio, CBS entered into the home video market, when joined with MGM to form MGM/Home Video in 1978, but the joint venture was broken by 1982. CBS joined another studio: [|20th Century Fox], to form [|CBS/Fox Video]. CBS's duty was to release some of the movies by [|TriStar Pictures] under the [|CBS/Fox Video] label.
 * Business Strategy **

Here is a layout of the measuring traffic of the networks' central sites: Although, ABC served the most videos in December, CBS keept the most amount of viewers. (Business Insider)

ABC: 47.3 million videos, 28 million minutes CBS: 33.8 million videos, **104 million minutes** NBC: 25.3 million videos, 62 million minutes Fox: 1.4 million videos, 2 million minutes

CBS seems to realize that today’s GenY audience thrives on multi-tasking where they can search the web, instant message, update Facebook, blog, and view television programming simultaneously. The Social Rooms created by CBS that enable viewers of television to socially network with others feeds the need of the audience to connect to others while viewing television programming thus maintaining the monetizing capabilities of keeping the advertising dollars within the Columbia Broadcasting System.
 * Gen Y Implications**

In my own opinion, I've always used CBS.com for viewing episodes of my favorite soap opera, "The Young and the Restless". If I miss an episode it's easy to go to CBS.com and find the episode I missed and there is no downloading involved, another screen pops up and what is really exciting is there are limited commercials, I'm watching more of the actual show instead of all the ads they show for a commercial.

CBS Corporation: NYSE. (2010). //Annual Report.// Retrieved April 29, 2010, from Google Finance. []-
 * References **

Learmonth, M. (2008). CBS Wins Battle of Network Web Sites. //Business Insider Inc//. 2010. []

Learmonth, M. (2008). Why CBS Keeps Dissing Hulu—And Why This Reveals Hulu’s Achilles Heel. //Business Insider Inc//. 2010. [|http://www.businessinsider.com/2008/3/why-cbs-doesn-t-need- hulu#ixzz0kGbHrgmo]

Wikimedia Foundation Inc. (2010.) //CBS//. May 3, 2010, from []