CBS Show Sales Help Offset Drop in 3Q Ad Revenue

FILE - In this July, 30, 2007 file photo, the CBS sign and logo adorns the exterior of the of the studios in Los Angeles. CBS Corporation releases quarterly earnings at the close of the market Thursday, Nov. 5, 2009.(AP Photo/Nick Ut, file)

(AP)

The sale of popular TV shows partly offset a drop in third-quarter advertising revenue at CBS Corp. but the company said ad trends are improving in the final three months of the year.

"The light at the end of the tunnel continues each day to get brighter," Sumner Redstone, the executive chairman and controlling shareholder at CBS, told analysts on a conference call Thursday. "As the economy recovers, CBS will be a leading beneficiary in the upturn."

CBS, which is based in New York, posted net income of $208 million, reversing a $12.5 billion loss a year ago in a quarter that was marred by impairment charges.

Adjusted for one-time items, the earnings came to 25 cents per share, cruising past analyst expectations for 22 cents per share.

Revenue fell less than 1 percent to $3.35 billion, also handily beating forecasts of $3.20 billion.

Sales of shows "Medium," "Criminal Minds," "Ghost Whisperer," "Everybody Hates Chris," and "Numb3rs," to other networks as well as rate increases for pay-TV service Showtime more than offset a 5 percent drop in advertising sales.

Total television revenue grew 9 percent to $2.27 billion but revenues at its radio stations, outdoor billboards and online sites fell.

Chief Executive Leslie Moonves said prices for spot TV ads in the fourth quarter were up 25 percent compared to the early buying period for the fall season known as the "upfronts."

Because the company held back ad inventory earlier to get higher prices, spot ads will make up about 35 percent of the inventory in the current quarter. Along with price increases, spot ad revenue will double in the fourth quarter compared to a year ago, Moonves said.

"It will affect the fourth-quarter network revenue in a very positive way, and it is not insignificant," Moonves said.

The company maintained its outlook for the fiscal year for operating income before depreciation and amortization to fall between $1.73 billion and $1.93 billion.