CBS to acquire CNET

“CBS Corp. will acquire CNet Networks Inc., a pioneering online provider of technology news and product reviews, for $1.8 billion cash, as the TV broadcasting giant took another step to use the Internet to rev up its growth.” Source: Marketwatch.

This is an interesting acquisition. CNet has been a trusted name in product reviews and a trusted source of news for many years. Additionally, CNet also has very valuable URLs of “News.com” and “Download.com.” CBS could easily use these easy URLs to promote its news divisions and television programming. There will probably be all kinds of cross-promotion between CNet and CBS.

Perhaps CBS can lend its television production expertise to CNetTV. CBS adds a bunch of credible tech experts to its various networks. In a perfect world, this could lead to the creation of a CBS branded CNet cable television channel.

More on this deal and what it means for both companies to come.