• New York Post, Monday, May 24, 2010 11:52 PM

With General Electric in the process of selling NBC Universal to Comcast, some Wall Street dealmakers predict Sumner Redstone and Disney will begin debating whether to put CBS and ABC, respectively, on the block, report the New York Post. "This is a good time to sell a network," said one Wall Street exec. "Retransmission makes it look more interesting. [CBS] has assets in radio but no long-term strategy in cable." 

ABC's future isn't a lock, with Disney chief Bob Iger said to be taking a hard look at the network. "There are no guarantees," he said recently about ABC's future at Disney. In fact, this year may be broadcast TV's best hope for finding buyers.

While the audience tuning in to broadcast TV continues to erode, the Big Four networks -- ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC -- collectively are expected to pull in as much as 20% more in ad dollars at this year's upfront than in last year's dismal showing. Plus, the net are gaining ground with cable to get paid for their broadcast signal. Analyst Larry Gerbrandt forecasts that networks could each reap up to $400 million in the coming years, thanks to retransmission fees.

CBS Corp. chief Les Moonves is open to the idea, says Television Broadcast. "We are a large-market organization in terms of our local assets, so we would look to continue to trim radio in the not-largest markets and even potentially a couple of television stations," Moonves said during the May 5 call. The CBS TV stations generated $323.7 million for CBS Corp. during the first quarter of 2010, up 29% from a year ago on a stronger ad market and increased political revenues.

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