Revenues Down At CBS Radio As CBS Corp. Revenues Rise Overall For Second Quarter

Q2

CBS CORP. second-quarter 2017 revenues rose 9% year-to-year to a record $3.26 billion, led by a 16% rise on affiliate and subscription fees (25% increase in retransmission fees) and 4% growth in advertising revenues. Net earnings from continuing operations rose 6% to $397 million, but a noncash charge of $365 million for discontinued operations resulted from reducing the carrying value of CBS RADIO to the level of the stock valuation of ENTERCOM; CBS RADIO is classified for purposes of CBS CORP. earnings as "held for sale," adjusted each quarter based on ENTERCOM's stock price until that deal is consummated.  Diluted earnings per share from continuing operations increased 12% to $1.04.

As for CBS RADIO alone, revenues were reported at $306 million, down from $313 million in 2016, but net earnings showed a loss of $339 million; adjusted for valuation of ENTERCOM stock and restructuring charges, the division showed a gain of $30 million, down from $50 million in 2016.

"CBS delivered outstanding second quarter results while continuing to take a number of steps to achieve our long-term financial goals," said Chairman/CEO LESLIE MOONVES. "First, we had a terrific upfront with gains in pricing and volume, including more and more deals that better reflect how people are watching our programming on a delayed basis. In addition, we took significant steps during the quarter to grow our affiliate fees from both traditional and 'skinny' bundles. Retransmission consent and reverse compensation increased 25% in the second quarter. And we are now seeing the benefit of our recent skinny bundle deals with GOOGLE's YOUTUBE TV, HULU, fuboTV, and just today we announced that we will be a part of DIRECTV NOW as well. At the same time, our in-house over-the-top subscription services, CBS ALL ACCESS and SHOWTIME OTT, continue to grow beyond our expectations and are on track to surpass a combined four million subscribers by the end of 2017. We are now gearing up to take the next strategic step with ALL ACCESS by expanding it into the international marketplace, starting with CANADA in the first half of 2018.

"SHOWTIME also had a terrific quarter, led by the successful return of 'TWIN PEAKS,' which boosted OTT subscriptions dramatically, and we continue to expand the SHOWTIME brand overseas with new deals to license our entire portfolio in FRANCE, INDIA, TAIWAN, HONG KONG, and others. So, 2017 is turning out to be a great year for the CBS CORPORATION even without the SUPER BOWL and political spending that we had in the prior year. And as we look ahead, we are positioned to have an even better year in 2018."

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