CBS Corp. Posts $3.4 Billion in Quarterly Revenues

NEW YORK: CBS Corporation’s results for the third quarter of 2016 show a 4 percent increase in revenues to $3.4 billion, lifted by an increase in fees from CBS-affiliated stations and growth from digital distribution platforms.

Content licensing and distribution revenues increased 6 percent, led by growth in U.S. television licensing sales. Ad revenues during the quarter were impacted by ten hours of prime-time preemptions for the Democratic and Republican conventions and the first U.S. presidential debate, as well as competition from the 2016 Summer Olympics. Advertising benefited from higher political spending.

Operating income was up 6 percent to $798 million, as higher revenues were partially offset by increased investment in programming. Net earnings from continuing operations were $514 million, a 21 percent lift.

Entertainment revenues for the third quarter were $1.95 billion, up 1 percent. This increase was led by 39 percent growth in affiliate and subscription fees, driven by higher station affiliation fees and subscription growth for CBS All Access. Entertainment operating income grew 3 percent to $348 million.

Cable networks revenues were up 14 percent to $598 million, driven by higher revenues from the domestic licensing of Showtime original series and growth from Showtime Networks’ OTT streaming service. Cable networks operating income grew 16 percent to $285 million, as revenue growth was partly offset by increased investment in original series.

“CBS is clearly knocking the cover off the ball, including revenue and profit growth across every one of our operating segments,” said Leslie Moonves, the chairman and CEO of CBS Corporation. “Our premium content continues to be the driving force behind our success, starting with the CBS Television Network, which kicked off another terrific season as the number one network, with the number one new drama, Bull, and the number one new comedy, Kevin Can Wait. With ownership in all of our new fall shows, we have once again positioned our company to monetize additional content across all platforms for years to come. This includes content licensing and distribution, which benefited from a 40 percent increase in streaming revenue during the third quarter. It also includes affiliate and subscription fees, where retransmission consent and reverse compensation grew 32 percent during the quarter, and where we continue to see rapid growth in our subscription streaming services, CBS All Access and Showtime OTT. Meanwhile, advertising remains strong and is accelerating here in the fourth quarter as our new upfront pricing kicks in and political spending is ramping up nicely. Looking ahead to the separation of our radio business, we see additional opportunities to return value to shareholders and invest in our core content business. So we feel extremely good about our future, and we are confident we have set ourselves up to succeed under any scenario.”