CBS Profit Up on Content Licensing Fees, Retransmission Revenue -- 2nd Update
July 28 2016 - 7:58PM
Dow Jones News
By Joe Flint and Tess Stynes
CBS Corp. isn't looking to get any bigger.
"We feel very complete. We have everything that we want," CBS
Chairman and Chief Executive Leslie Moonves said during the
company's earnings call Thursday, in response to an analyst's
question about recent speculation that CBS and Viacom Inc. could
reunite. Both are controlled by media mogul Sumner Redstone and
were split apart a decade ago.
Although Mr. Moonves declined to comment on Viacom specifically,
he said CBS is coming from a "position of strength" and wouldn't
want to "do anything that's going to reduce that strength."
Mr. Moonves spoke on the heels of CBS reporting a 27% gain in
second-quarter earnings that beat analysts' expectations, bolstered
by content licensing fees for five Star Trek series abroad and
growth in retransmission revenue.
In the past, Mr. Moonves has said he wasn't looking to boost
CBS's cable programming presence because he feels his hand is
strong enough now with the CBS broadcast network and the pay-TV
channel Showtime. A deal with Viacom would add dozens of cable
channels, many of which are struggling, to his portfolio.
The reunion of the two media giants has been pushed by analysts
who think Viacom would be stronger if it was recombined with CBS,
whose stock has performed better in recent years. A Viacom-CBS
remarriage is also seen as one potential outcome of the messy legal
battle over future control of Mr. Redstone's media empire.
CBS did look at acquiring the pay-TV channel Starz, Mr. Moonves
said, but ultimately passed. Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. ended
up agreeing to acquire Starz in a deal valued at $4.4 billion.
Meanwhile, CBS raised its quarterly dividend by 20% to 18 cents
a share and boosted its stock buyback plan to $6 billion. That
marks about a quarter of the company's more than $24 billion market
value.
CBS also provided its first detailed report on its
internet-delivered programming services CBS All Access and Showtime
Anytime. The former is a digital feed of the CBS network and is
sold for $5.99 a month. The latter is an online version of Showtime
that costs about $11 a month. Together the two have over two
million subscribers, Mr. Moonves said.
For the quarter ended June 30, CBS reported revenue increased
2.1% to $3.29 billion, slightly above estimates of analysts polled
by Thomson Reuters for revenue of $3.21 billion.
A year earlier, CBS's revenue got a boost from distribution fees
for its content from pay-TV operators and its own affiliates, as
well as the record-breaking pay-per-view telecast of the Floyd
Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao fight. The year-earlier quarter also
included the NCAA Tournament finals.
Overall, CBS reported a profit of $423 million, or 93 cents a
share, up from $332 million, or 67 cents a share, a year earlier.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected per-share profit of 86
cents.
In the latest quarter, content licensing and distribution
revenue rose 16%, driven mainly by the Star Trek licensing deals
internationally. Meanwhile, affiliate and subscription fees
decreased 2.5% and advertising revenue declined 2.6%.
Mr. Moonves said CBS had its strongest upfront advertising
selling season in years, which will benefit the company beginning
in late September when the new higher pricing takes effect for the
start of the fall TV season.
Anne Steele contributed to this article.
Write to Joe Flint at joe.flint@wsj.com and Tess Stynes at
tess.stynes@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 28, 2016 19:43 ET (23:43 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
CBS (NYSE:CBS)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
CBS (NYSE:CBS)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024