It depends. What may hurt CNET more is a damaged relationship with tech companies. You can believe the news of CNET getting booted from CES has made the rounds in these companies. Now, would these companies be as eager to work with CNET, knowing that, on a whim, CBS can erase anything that CNET has to say about them? Under these circumstances, if you work at one of these companies, and you have missed calls from a CNET reporter and a reporter from a site with not so tarnished a reputation, whose call will you return first?
What you may end up with is a degradation of CNET's relationship with the manufacturers, which will lead to a degradation in the quality of what goes on their site. Sooner or later, that will catch up with them.