02/19/2010
Financial Times – New York Bureau
CBS will begin selling some television shows for 99 cents per episode through Apple’s iTunes service, confirming an FT report that some TV networks had agreed to halve prices.
“There are certain shows that will be sold on Apple for 99 cents,” said Leslie Moonves, chief executive of CBS, adding that CBS had not worked out which shows to offer at lower costs.
A deal is not imminent, one CBS source said.
Other television networks have also agreed to similar terms and are expected to begin selling some shows at the reduced price to ignite sales, people familiar with the plans told the FT in February. The lower prices could arrive in time for the consumer launch of Apple’s latest digital media gadget, the iPad, a tablet computer.
Digital advertising revenue at CBS’ entertainment division had declined 5 per cent in the quarter, a stark contrast to the rising internet revenue of other media companies.
Still, for CBS, whose recent broadcast of the annual Super Bowl American football, which drew a record audience of 106.5m average viewers, was the most watched televised event in history, traditional television remained the company’s biggest business and will be so for some time, Mr Moonves said.
CBS will also be one of a dozen networks to carry Tiger Woods’ press conference on Friday, the disgraced golfer’s first live public address since his self-imposed exile from professional golfing after reports of marital infidelity in December.
“Being the network with the largest number of golf events, the return of Tiger Woods is a welcome one,” said Mr Moonves.
CBS projected a 30 per cent improvement in advertising pricing in the first quarter. Fourth quarter underlying profits rose sharply on higher national ad sales but ad revenue at its radio and publishing divisions continued to fall.
Fourth quarter net profit was $58.8m, or 9 cents per share, compared with $136.1m, or 20 cents per share a year earlier when it took an impairment charge from radio station sales. Revenue fell less than 1 per cent to $3.5bn.
Excluding one-offs CBS’s profit per share of 25 cents matched estimates.
