Eye family warm & fuzzy--for now. (Television).(CBS holds 49th annual meeting)

Good old-fashioned network affiliate confabs have all but disappeared in the wake of broadcast consolidation and corporate belt-tightening--except at CBS.

Eye execs made sure to point that out to station reps last week, as the network and its affils met at Las Vegas' Bellagio Hotel for their 49th annual meeting.

CBS affiliate relations prexy Peter Schruth pointed out that CBS is the only net that has thrown a large-scale affils meeting over the last three years.

Schruth even described CBS' interaction with its affils as "the strongest relationship in the broadcast industry today."

Indeed, with most major issues out of the way--at least for now--CBS and its affils were able to embrace each other without looking behind their back.

That's a nice change, …