ViacomCBS in talks to sell CNET for $500 million

ViacomCBS Inc. is in talks to sell technology news and reviews site CNET to digital-media holding company Red Ventures LLC, reports Benjamin Mullin and Sahil Patel of The Wall Street Journal.

Mullin and Patel report, “The price being discussed for CNET is about $500 million, some of the people said. The deal isn’t final and talks could break down, the people said.

“Red Ventures—which operates consumer websites such as Bankrate and Reviews.com—and ViacomCBS declined to comment.

“ViacomCBS, formed last year through the merger of sister companies Viacom and CBS, is selling some parts of the combined company to shore up its balance sheet and use the additional cash on its video-streaming efforts.

“In addition to CNET, ViacomCBS is looking to sell Simon & Schuster, seeking at least $1.2 billion for the book-publishing company. ViacomCBS also said it plans to sell ‘Black Rock,’ CBS’s historic Midtown Manhattan headquarters, expected by some analysts to fetch at least $800 million.”

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Chris Roush

Chris Roush was the dean of the School of Communications at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. He was previously Walter E. Hussman Sr. Distinguished Professor in business journalism at UNC-Chapel Hill. He is a former business journalist for Bloomberg News, Businessweek, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Tampa Tribune and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. He is the author of the leading business reporting textbook "Show me the Money: Writing Business and Economics Stories for Mass Communication" and "Thinking Things Over," a biography of former Wall Street Journal editor Vermont Royster.