CBS Television Network, Major U.S. television broadcasting network. It began in 1928 as the Columbia Broadcasting System, a small radio network directed by William S. Paley. By offering programming free to affiliated stations in exchange for airing sponsored shows, Paley built the network from 22 stations to 114 in 10 years. Such stars as Fred Allen, Bing Crosby, and Kate Smith increased audience ratings into the 1940s. Later, performers like Jack Benny, Ed Sullivan, Lucille Ball, Carol Burnett, Mary Tyler Moore, and news anchor Walter Cronkite helped make CBS the dominant television network through the 1970s.
Beginning in the 1960s, the company began diversifying into other areas, including publishing and toy manufacturing. Of these ventures, only Columbia Records proved successful, and the corporation sold off divisions unrelated to broadcasting in 1985. A decline in ratings and in the number of affiliated stations led to the sale of CBS to Westinghouse Electric Corp. in 1995.
Westinghouse later adopted the CBS Corporation name. In 2000, CBS Corporation was acquired by Viacom Inc. Six years later, CBS was separated as a stand-alone CBS Corporation but re-merged with Viacom in 2019 as ViacomCBS. The combined company changed its name to Paramount Global in 2022. In 2025, CBS became the flagship network of the newly formed Paramount Skydance Corporation following an $8 billion merger with Skydance Media. CBS President and CEO George Cheeks remained in charge of the network.