CBS Corp. Wednesday took a 30 percent
stake in Baby Boomer-oriented media company ThirdAge Media, Inc. in exchange for
$54 million in advertising and promotion.
The agreement gives CBS warrants for an additional 5 percent of the
company. CBS Corp. will also take positions ThirdAge Media’s board of
directors.
ThirdAge Media, Inc. will receive the payment in marketing from all of
CBS’s media properties over a term of seven years.
ThirdAge Media targets its Internet content and services to the Baby Boomer
generation, a major component of the CBS Network’s demographics.
“As we continue to extend the CBS brand on the Internet, ThirdAge marks yet
another strategic investment in what is now the fastest growing segment of
the Web user population — adults aged 45 to 65,” said Mel Karmazin, CBS Corp.
president and chief executive officer.
CBS has taken various stakes in SportsLine USA Inc., MarketWatch.com,
Inc., StoreRunner Inc. and Office.com Inc. The company also has
promotion-for-equity exchanges in the works with hollywood.com and Switchboard Inc.