☰

Cultura

CBS profit beats as income from affiliates and subscriptions rise


    (Reuters) - CBS Corp , owner of the most-watched U.S. TV network, reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit as revenue from its affiliates and subscription fees rose.

    But revenue fell about 2 percent as the company telecast one less NFL playoff game in the first quarter compared with the same quarter last year.

    CBS, whose network is home to naval intelligence drama "NCIS" and comedy "The Big Bang Theory", said the rise in revenue from affiliates and subscription fees offset a decline in content licensing and distribution revenue.

    Affiliate and subscription fees mostly consist of income from programing distributors for carrying CBS's cable networks. It also includes fees received from affiliated TV stations.

    Apart from its broadcast network, CBS owns cable channels Showtime and CBS Sports Network, radio stations, and the Simon & Schuster publishing house. It also has an online subscription streaming service, CBS All Access.

    CBS's total entertainment revenue fell 1.7 percent to $2.26 billion in the quarter ended March. 31.

    The company's net income from continuing operations fell to $394 million from $462 million a year earlier.

    Diluted earnings per share rose to 78 cents from 77 as the weighted average number of common shares outstanding declined.

    Analysts on average expected the company to earn 75 cents per share. Revenue of $3.50 billion beat the average analyst forecast of $3.44 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

    CBS shares, which closed at $61.22 on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday, were up 1 percent in extended trading.

    (Reporting by Devika Krishna Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Ted Kerr)