Affiliates of CBS Radio will need to find a new source of hourly network news after a surprising announcement March 20 that the network will shut down.
CBS Radio will air its last newscast May 22, about 15 months shy of what would have been the radio network’s 100th anniversary.
The decision comes amid continued cuts at CBS News, which had continued to produce the hourly newscast after CBS sold its radio division to Audacy.
Many Audacy stations, including WCCO/830 (Minneapolis), remained CBS affiliates after the sale. The network is a core part of the programming on Audacy All-News stations such as WBBM/780 (Chicago).
The six-minute newscast (with optional outs), starting with its distinctive hourly chime, has been a 24-times-per-day feature for many News/Talk and full-service radio stations for decades. The network is distinct from its commercial radio competitors in that its first block is 2:45 (previously 3:00), longer than other newscasts.
CBS Radio had been a stalwart over the years as the original NBC Radio, Mutual Radio Network, and CNN Radio shut down (NBC Radio has since been relaunched twice and is now operated by iHeartMedia.) Other major commercial radio news networks include ABC and FOX.
Hourly network news affiliations can be hard to track, since there do not seem to be official lists online, but I tried to sort it out several years ago with “Data Dump: Radio Network News Affiliations in Upper Midwest Cities.” Affiliations are also included on the radio station lists on this website.