Unlike most of its television programming, CBS was a big performer Tuesday on Wall Street amid reports that cable entrepreneur Ted Turner again has his eyes on the network and news of a programming coup.
CBS stock closed at $64.62, up $2.62, on the New York Stock Exchange.
Turner, chairman and president of Turner Broadcasting System Inc., who made an abortive run at CBS in the mid-1980s, has alternately been in pursuit of CBS and, most recently, NBC. A major broadcast network would complement Turner’s national and international cable operation as well as provide a national broadcast distribution network for Turner programming.
CBS, last year’s top-rated network but this season’s No. 3, moved Tuesday to escape from its prime-time misery by signing nine-time Emmy Award winner Steven Bochco to an exclusive four-year contract to create shows.
Bochco’s credits include “NYPD Blue,” “Hill Street Blues” and “L.A. Law,” which appeared on ABC and NBC.
