Moonves Weighs In on New Media

CANNES, October 9: Speaking with reporters in Cannes this morning,
Leslie Moonves, the president and CEO of CBS Corporation and this year’s MIPCOM
Personality of the Year, discussed the company’s new-media strategy, the
relationship with iTunes and the progress of The CW network in the U.S.

When asked about his role in discovering key talent over the years,
Moonves noted that as a former actor, he had an advantage over other network
chiefs in that he came “from a creative background,” saying, “I was a mediocre
actor, so I really appreciate people who have great talent. If I could be
George Clooney, I would!”

Moonves went on to say that he has, over the course of his career,
“learned by trial and error. More shows fail than succeed, but our group has
been fortunate in that we’ve had a better batting average. I have a genuine
respect for the creative process, and I’m still in awe of it.”

Touching on CBS Corp.’s new-media strategy, Moonves said: “Anybody who
is a content provider or runs a network can’t keep their head in the sand.
Technology is our friend.” Noting that audiences “are getting content in
thousands of different places,” and that they are increasingly “very demanding
and very impatient,” content providers must make that content available when
and how people want it. “My role as CEO is to be open to what comes through the
door.”

In this new age of television, Moonves said that the programs themselves
“are the real brands. Most people can’t say what network such as such was on.
It’s still about the programming.” However, Moonves continued, the linear
network will continue to be CBS Corp.’s core focus for first-run programming.

On the new-media front, CBS is utilizing subscription services, download
offerings like iTunes and ad-supported online platforms, like its own CBS
Audience Network, to make full episodes of its shows available to audiences.
“We do want to get paid for our content and we will,” he said. “Every
relationship we have, there is a mechanism for us to get paid for our content.”

Speaking specifically on the iTunes relationship, Moonves said, “We are
getting paid a decent amount of money. Do we have questions about the price
point? Absolutely. But we don’t feel the same way as NBC Universal does. We do
plan to continue that relationship [with Apple.]”

Short-form clips and “mashups” online, meanwhile, Moonves said, are
“good for us promotionally. They expose our shows to new audiences.”

Moonves noted that the company has enlisted young, up-and-coming content
creators to create original programming for the web. “Whether it will translate
to the network, I don’t know.” These young filmmakers, meanwhile, Moonves said,
“15 years from now they’ll be running [the media] business.”

Moving on to CBS’s programming strategy, Moonves noted that a decade ago
“we were considered the stodgy network” with a host of older-skewing shows;
that impression was changed thanks to the likes of Everybody Loves Raymond, Survivor and CSI. “We changed
the perception that we were your grandmother’s network.” He acknowledged that
CBS has been accused of featuring too many procedural crime dramas, and that
the launch of Kid Nation and Moonlight, among others, is in part
a response to that. However, Moonves said, “We will do more procedural dramas
if they’re the best things we have. The audience hasn’t told us that [we have] too many.”

Questioned about CSI, which has delivered $2 billion in revenues
across the three shows in the franchise, Moonves said that the company had engaged
in discussions with a French company for a local edition of the show; “that
deal never happened. Dramas are the toughest to do as local productions.”

On The CW, Moonves said the merged network’s first year was focused on
lining up its affiliates. In its second year on the air, Moonves said he is
“satisfied with the programming,” citing Gossip Girl as being the
kind of title needed to reach viewers aged 18 to 34. “FOX has gotten older,” he
said, leaving an opportunity for The CW to attract those younger viewers.