CBS contest: $250k across 35 markets ....

From Tom Taylor:

CBS revives “national contesting” with a $250,000 campaign in 35 markets.

The contest is customized to the needs of each station, so that at Chicago's country US 99 WUSN it’s called “Money Machine”, and at oldies KOOL-FM, Phoenix it's the "Quarter Million Moola Giveaway" cued by the Cash Cow "Moo", and at Atlanta’s urban V103 it’s $10,000 daily in “Luda Cash” – celebrity-hosted by hip-hop’s Ludacris. The extensive rules on the US99 site make it very clear that contestants “will be competing with listeners from up to 60 stations in up to 35 radio markets across the U.S.” In the early days of national contesting by large companies, the rules weren't always so transparent, leading to confusion. CBS began running the Spring $1,000-a-call weekday contest on Monday, April 12 and will wind it up on Friday, May 14. Several years ago, both CBS and Clear Channel engaged in heavy-duty national contesting, and now there’s a new rationale –