CBS

CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American media company whose holdings include radio and broadcast and cable television. It controls one of the three traditional national television networks, alongside ABC and NBC. It was founded in 1927.

From 1964 to 1973, CBS was the primary owner of the New York Yankees. They bought 80% of the team's shares for $11.2 million at a time when diversification and creating conglomerates consisting of unrelated businesses was all the rage in the American corporate world. They completed the purchase by buying the remaining 20% from Dan Topping in 1966, for another $2 million. While CBS Principal William S. Paley was the nominal owner, the team was left in charge of Mike Burke, who replaced Topping as team President. The move was greeted poorly by journalists, who already accused television of having denatured the game as they once knew it. The decade of CBS ownership was a low-light in team history, marked by poor on-field results, low attendance, and a threatened move to New Jersey given the growing decrepitude of Yankee Stadium. CBS soon grew tired of the distraction and sold the team at a loss to George Steinbrenner in early 1973, for $10 million. By then, Burke had convinced New York Mayor John Lindsay to buy the ballpark and undertake major renovations, so Steinbrenner was buying a diamond in the rough, which he turned back into the most valuable franchise in the sport.