By Ed Ryan
CBS, nor any radio company for that matter, ever reveals hard sales numbers to a nosy reporter. However if you ask enough times you get glimpses of how the pacing looks, which is better than nothing. Michael Weiss is the President of Radio Sales for CBS. Weiss tells Radio Ink CBS is in good shape. "We had a good first quarter. We are having a good second quarter. Early signs for third quarter are good. I feel pretty good." That's how a lot of radio big wigs felt in January. Some had to pull back their expectations, and eat a little crow, mostly due to a Tsunami in Japan. More proof that radio puts a lot of eggs, perhaps too many eggs, in the auto basket and are unprepared to replace those dollars when they dry up, for whatever reason. But radio has been that way since back in the day when stations used to announce the artist and the song.
Weiss says things in Japan may improve faster than people think. "Listen, everything I am reading about the Japanese auto makers is they will get up to production a lot quicker than they did. If we have problems with the Japanese auto makers we are replacing it with other advertisers. We are continuing to grow our digital business. I feel very positive about the remaining half of this year and I feel very positive about 2012. I think over the air business is strong. Digital business is very strong. We spend a lot of time on NTR, non traditional radio, we feel we are doing very well there. The company is willing to invest if we can get a good return on our investment. I look at the Japanese auto makers and there is always some sort of blip every year in any industry, our job is just to work through it. We have done that and we will continue to do that. I look at those things as opportunities. I think it?s an opportunity with the domestic auto makers. What a great time for them to pick up some additional market share and what a great time for CBS radio to help them."
Michael Weiss will be on the June 20th cover issue of Radio Ink Magazine.
You'll only be able to read this extensive interview if you steal your bosses copy of Radio Ink or you can do it the easy way: SUBSCRIBE HERE
Add a Comment Send This Story To A Friend
