CBS Integrates CSTV Into Sports Division
Network Founder Bedol Remains During Transition Period Before Petitti Assumes Daily Oversight
By Mike Reynolds -- Multichannel News, 1/3/2008 8:55:00 AM
With College Sports Television migrating within CBS Sports, Brian Bedol has left the network he launched four years ago.
Under the reorganization, CBS Corp. is integrating CSTV and its various holdings into CBS Sports. Oversight of CSTV, which CBS Corp. acquired for $325 million in November 2005, now falls to Sean McManus, president of CBS News and Sports, with daily operational management under the purview of Tony Petitti, executive vice president and executive producer of CBS Sports.
As part of the consolidation, Bedol, who rolled out CSTV along with Chris Bevilicqua in 2003 and helped grow it as an independent division within CBS to where it now counts some 25 million homes, is now a senior advisor to CBS Corp. president and CEO Leslie Moonves.
In addition to the linear network that televises regular-season and championship events from 35 men’s and women’s sports, CSTV’s portfolio also includes CSTV.com and its network of nearly 215 official sites; the CSTV XXLandAll Accessbroadband services that provide live and streaming audio and video of more than 10,000 events annually; and a stake in regional sports network, The Mtn.--Mountain Sports Network.
"CSTV is one of the great brands in college sports and a real asset to CBS Corporation,” said Moonves in a statement. “It has developed tremendously since we acquired it in 2005, thanks to the vision and hard work of Brian Bedol and his team. We are confident that it is now ready to become a part of the peerless CBS Sports division…I want to thank Brian for all he has done with CSTV, and I look forward to working with Sean and Tony as we bring this extraordinary brand to the next level.”
“Since becoming part of CBS Corporation, CSTV has had the opportunity to grow bigger and faster and better than I could have ever imagined,” said Bedol. “And now, as part of CBS Sports, it joins an institution that has become the model for all others in the sports media business…I’m convinced that it is the perfect environment to continue CSTV’s evolution.”
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