CBS News Radio

CBS News Radio, previously known as CBS Radio News and historically known as the CBS Radio Network, was a radio network that at its peak provided news to more than 1,000 radio stations throughout the United States. The network was owned by Paramount Skydance Corporation and its predecessors. On March 20, 2026, CBS News announced that service to approximately 700 remaining affiliate stations would end on May 22, 2026, with all staff positions being eliminated. It was the last of the three original national U.S. radio networks (CBS, NBC Radio Network and Mutual Broadcasting System) still operating and still owned by its original parent company, even though CBS sold its owned and operated radio stations in 2017 to Entercom (now known as Audacy, Inc.)

Background

The network was the second-oldest unit of Paramount Skydance Corporation after Paramount Pictures. CBS Radio traces its roots to CBS's predecessor, United Independent Broadcasters, founded in 1927 with 47 network affiliates. Before United Independent Broadcasters went to air, Columbia Records invested in the radio network, which was renamed the Columbia Phonographic Broadcasting System. Eventually, the record company pulled its backing from the struggling web. William S. Paley bought a half-interest in what became the Columbia Broadcasting System in 1928 and became its president. (In 1938, CBS bought its former parent, Columbia Records.)

In its early years, the news service on the CBS network consisted only of United Press bulletins being read out on the air. The network's first regular news program, a five-minute segment on the morning show Something for Everyone, was introduced in 1929.