CBS Revenues Rise In Fourth Quarter, Radio Up 2%

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CBS CORP. reported revenues of $3.68 billion for fourth quarter 2014, up 3% year-to-year and driven by THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL on CBS television and political revenues from the midterm elections.  CBS RADIO revenue rose 2%, helping the Local Broadcasting division (including television) to grow 9% to $785 million.  Operating income before depreciation and amortization (OIBDA) fell from $808 million to $778 million, and net earnings from continuing operations dropped from $434 million to $402 million but rose on a per-share basis by 8% to 77 cents/diluted share due to lower weighted average shares outstanding from the split-off of CBS OUTDOOR AMERICAS INC. and the company's ongoing share repurchase program.

Exec. Chairman SUMNER REDSTONE said, "CBS's content continues to engage viewers around the world and create tremendous value for its shareholders.  I'm extremely proud of all that we are doing to evolve into the digital future, and I'm certain that LES and his team are pursuing a winning strategy to keep CBS on top of its game for many, many years."

Pres.t/CEO LES MOONVES said. "This was a very strong quarter with growth in both revenue and EPS, and at the heart of it all is the increased demand for our content.  It all starts with the CBS TELEVISION NETWORK, which remains #1 and is growing its audience from year to year. With a balanced schedule of new and established hits, the return of THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL next FALL, and SUPER BOWL 50 on CBS in 2016, we are continuing to build momentum from a position of strength. As a result, affiliate fees are growing at a rapid clip. During the quarter, we made significant progress in retransmission consent and reverse compensation by completing another round of new deals, each time at higher rates that place fair value on our content. We also recently expanded our streaming platform by licensing CSI for the first time. And we have begun to expand the global reach of SHOWTIME in a whole new way through our deal with BELL MEDIA in Canada. At the same time, our commitment to shareholders remains as strong as ever. We repurchased $800 million of CBS stock during the fourth quarter -- double what we did in the third -- and we plan to pick up the pace even more here in the first quarter with a target of $1 billion. Thanks to our continued investment in world-class content and our strong financial position, we are well poised for future growth."

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