 Final logo, used from 1997 to 2005 | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Radio broadcasting Outdoor advertising |
| Founded | 1972; 53 years ago (1972) |
| Founder | Michael A. Wiener Gerald Carrus |
| Defunct | 2005; 20 years ago (2005) |
| Fate | Renamed as CBS Radio |
| Successors | CBS Radio Audacy, Inc. |
| Headquarters | , U.S. |
Area served | United States |
Key people | Mel Karmazin |
| Parent | CBS Corporation (1997–2000) Viacom (2000–2005) |
| Website | infinityradio.com |
Infinity Broadcasting Corporation was a radio company that existed from 1972 until 2005. It was founded byMichael A. Wiener and Gerald Carrus. It became associated with popular radio personalities likeHoward Stern,Opie and Anthony,Don Imus andMike Francesa. Infinity merged withCBS Corporation in 1997 and later became part ofViacom in 2000, when CBS and Viacom merged, serving as the radio division of CBS. After the Viacom split in 2005, Infinity changed its name toCBS Radio; the company would later merge with Entercom, presently known asAudacy, Inc.
Infinity was founded in 1972 by two formerMetromedia executivesMichael A. Wiener and Gerald Carrus, with the acquisition ofKOME, an FM radio station that served theSan Francisco Bay Area, and finally received its license by theFederal Communications Commission (FCC) a year later.[1] In 1979, Infinity acquiredWBCN inBoston.
In 1981,Mel Karmazin was brought in as new president. Karmazin oversaw the operation of New York's WNEW-AM (nowWBBR) andWNEW-FM forMetromedia. Soon after, the company acquired fellow New York stations WNEW-FM, WKTU (nowWINS-FM; the present-dayWKTU is owned byiHeartMedia),WZRC, andWFAN the following years, followed byWYSP-FM inPhiladelphia. In 1983, Infinity absorbedKXYZ inHouston andWJMK andWJJD inChicago.
Infinity became a publicly traded company in 1986. Within a year, it had purchased six more stations:KROQ-FM inLos Angeles,WJFK-FM inWashington, D.C.,WQYK-AM/FM in Tampa, andKVIL-AM/FM inDallas.
Karmazin and three other company executives took the company private in 1988 and took it public again in 1992.[2] In 1993, Infinity was expanded to 22 radio stations.[how?][clarification needed][citation needed]
As a result of theTelecommunications Act of 1996, which loosened ownership restrictions of broadcast stations, Infinity was able to quickly acquire more stations, gradually increasing its portfolio to 75 stations.
In 1996, it was announced thatWestinghouse Electric Corporation (which ownedCBS) would acquire Infinity Broadcasting. Karmazin had attempted to acquire CBS, but Michael Jordan, CEO of Westinghouse, refused to sell the firm to Karmazin but instead agreed to buy Infinity. The $4.9 billion deal was completed on December 31, 1996.[3] As a result of the Westinghouse purchase, Infinity was merged into the CBS Radio Group, with Karmazin as president. Karmazin soon became chairman and CEO of CBS Radio, and took the control of the CBS television network.
Shortly after, Westinghouse sold its non-broadcasting assets and renamed itself asCBS Corporation. In 1998, CBS decided to spin off a portion of its radio and outdoor advertising holdings as Infinity Broadcasting Corporation, once again bringing the Infinity name back to the public. The stock offering was the largest in the media industry at the time and raised $2.87 billion.
The most significant move during 1999, however, was the deal struck withViacom in September.Sumner Redstone, CEO of Viacom, shot down Karmazin's offer to buy Viacom. Karmazin then offered CBS to Redstone, who eventually made a $37 billion proposal to merge the two companies. Viacom completed the CBS Corp. purchase in May 2000, and it retained 80% ownership of Infinity. In that same year, Infinity acquired Outdoor Systems and renamed it Infinity Outdoor.
Under the new ownership by Viacom, Infinity acquired 18 radio stations from its competitor,Clear Channel Communications (now iHeartMedia), which needed to divest them as part of its own merger withAMFM Incorporated. The company also purchased Giraudy SA, an outdoor advertising company based in France. In 2002, Viacom acquired the remaining shares of Infinity that it did not already own, making it a wholly owned subsidiary. At that time, Infinity Outdoor was separated from Infinity Broadcasting and renamed Viacom Outdoor.
Karmazin resigned in May 2004, due to many differences with Redstone.[4] Karmazin later said he didn't get along with Redstone and found it difficult to be "No. 2" at a company, but particularly under Redstone. The two executives continued to snipe at each other through the media even a year after Karmazin left Viacom.[5]
On December 14, 2005, Infinity Broadcasting reverted toCBS Radio, and joined with the CBS andUPN networks (the latter of which would later merge with former rival networkThe WB to formThe CW), Paramount's television properties,Showtime Networks,Viacom Outdoor,Simon & Schuster, andParamount Parks into a revived CBS Corporation. At that time, CBS Corp. spun off the"new" Viacom, which includedMTV Networks,BET, andParamount Pictures, among other assets. CBS Radio was sold to Entercom (nowAudacy, Inc.) on November 17, 2017.[6]
The Infinity Radio name and logo were used for an online-only variety hits station on CBS Radio's streaming platform, InfinityRadio.com andRadio.com, to maintain trademark rights. As of 2021 the infinityradio.com website resolves to audacy.com which still preserves the current trademark registration. The Infinity brand was later repurposed by Audacy for itsInfinity Sports Network (after its transitional rights to theCBS Sports branding expired),[7] and Infinity Networks—a syndication unit launched in 2025.[8]
Westinghouse | ||||||||||||||
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| Westinghouse Electric Corp. (1886–2000) |
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