CBS is one of the largest broadcasting networks in the United States. CBS stands for Columbia Broadcasting System. It is one of the four major national television networks. The other three are ABC, NBC, and Fox. CBS is owned by the company ViacomCBS Inc.
CBS was one of the first commercial radio networks in the United States. In 1928, the American businessman William S. Paley acquired United Independent Broadcasters Inc., a network of 16 radio stations, and renamed it the Columbia Broadcasting System.
In 1931, CBS began broadcasting regularly scheduled television programming in addition to its radio broadcasts. Initially, CBS’s television programming was broadcast only in the New York City area, but by 1947, CBS had expanded its network to include other cities on the East Coast. By the following year, CBS had added 30 affiliated stations to the CBS Television Network.
In 1948, CBS began airing “The Ed Sullivan Show.” Hosted by journalist Ed Sullivan, the variety show was one of the most popular and longest-running programs in television history. The show ran until 1971.
In 1951, CBS launched “I Love Lucy,” one of TV’s most popular comedies. Starring the comedian Lucille Ball, the show pioneered many of the conventions of the television situation comedy. Each show was recorded before a live audience in Hollywood, California. Using multiple cameras for each scene, a half-hour program was produced at relatively low cost. Each program was broadcast weekly on CBS and was later sold to stations around the world. The show ran until 1957. 
CBS sustained television programming leadership into the 1960’s with shows based on two of its most popular and long-running radio programs, the comedy ”The Jack Benny Program” and the Western “Gunsmoke.” It also had hits with the rural comedies “The Beverly Hillbillies,” “Green Acres,” and “Petticoat Junction.”
CBS was also a leader in television news. With newscaster Walter Cronkite, the network drew huge audiences for its live coverage of the story of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination and funeral and the telecast of the first walk on the moon. Cronkite was the anchorman of “The CBS Evening News” from 1962 to 1981. CBS’s weekly news magazine “60 Minutes,” which began in 1968, is one of the longest-running and highest-rated programs on prime-time television.
Some of CBS’s groundbreaking programs have included “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” (1970-1977), “All in the Family” (1971-1979), “M*A*S*H” (1972-1983), “Dallas” (1978-1991), and “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” which began in 2000. The network also popularized reality television in 2000 with “Survivor.”
See also CBS Corporation ; Westinghouse Electric Corporation .
