• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, December 15, 2005

CBS Wednesday officially re-branded its Infinity Broadcasting unit as "CBS Radio." No surprise there. But the imminent re-branding of another former Viacom asset--out-of-home media giant Viacom Outdoor--is raising some delicate issues for the soon-to-be-independent CBS Corp. CBS, which will split from a new, pared-down Viacom Inc. at year-end, is planning to re-brand its outdoor division as "CBS Outdoor," MDN has learned.

While that may not seem a surprising choice given CBS' separation from Viacom, the name raises a new set of complications for CBS' outdoor division, which is one of the biggest out-of-home media companies in the world, and which gets much of its advertising revenues from other media companies--particularly rival networks and stations that may see their association with the CBS brand name as something more competitive than Viacom's staid corporate identity.

The problem: outdoor media companies normally have their own names festooned on the bottom of billboards and other out-of-home media. While that may not have been a big deal for Viacom Outdoor or its major rivals like Clear Channel Outdoor, or JCDecaux, whose corporate names don't compete directly with the branded media outlets that advertise on their boards, the CBS name frequently does. Imagine the ABC Television network plugging its new fall lineup, or stations like WNBC touting their local news programs on CBS billboards.

Viacom does not disclose its sales for specific outdoor advertising categories, but if they are anything like the medium's average, media companies account for a significant share of CBS' outdoor revenues. According to estimates released last week by the Outdoor Advertising Association of America (OAAA), the media and advertising category contributed to 10.7 percent of outdoor advertising sales through the first three quarters of 2005--an increase of 29 percent versus the same period in 2004.

Incidentally, the OAAA Wednesday said it retained certified public accountants Miller, Kaplan, Arase & Co. to compile monthly outdoor industry revenues. Previously, the OAAA reported quarterly outdoor advertising estimates based on an analysis of data from TNS Media Intelligence. The timing of the new, more frequent sales tracking data is good for the outdoor industry, which is expected to see a surge in growth due largely to improved audience research systems spearheaded by the Traffic Audit Bureau.

CBS Corp. spokesman Dana McClintock, meanwhile, declined to comment on CBS' outdoor name change, but insiders said the re-branding is likely to occur before CBS Corp. officially splits from Viacom Inc. They say there still are a number of thorny issues to work out, and it's possible the CBS name may not appear on all of its outdoor media installations, but that CBS will likely become the official name of the outdoor unit.

That makes sense, given Wednesday's announcement about CBS Radio. "This is a proud moment for all of us who love the CBS name, and who know the storied history of CBS Radio," stated Leslie Moonves, CEO and president of the new CBS Corp. Formerly known as Infinity Broadcasting, the division includes 179 stations, the majority of which are in the top 50 markets.