Tag Archives: cbs

Moonves Roadmap Lights A Fire Under CBS Stock, Selling Radio

At media firm CBS ( CBS ), it’s out with the old and in with the new. CBS stock has been on a roll since CEO Les Moonves moved up the ladder to chairman on Feb. 3; the stock touched an eight-month high Wednesday. At CBS’ investor day in New York on Tuesday, Moonves served notice that the media firm may be doing things differently and may sell off assets while at the same time eyeing acquisitions. What’s out? Moonves surprised analysts by disclosing that the media firm will put CBS Radio on the block. What’s new? CBS expects to generate some $800 million in revenue from stand-alone Internet video streaming services by 2020. With gains on Wednesday, CBS stock has climbed 16% in 2016. It’s up 13% since Moonves took over as chairman from Sumner Redstone on Feb. 3 and 27% since the media firm reported earnings on Feb. 11. Shares in CBS were up nearly 3.7% to 54.54 in early afternoon trading in the stock market today . On the TV side of the business, Moonves made clear that CBS plans to invest in content. CBS has 17 pilots in the pipeline this year and owns at least half of 16 of the shows. CBS plans to offer more shows exclusively on its streaming “All Access” website. CBS also offers an online-only Showtime product. “The key theme of the day was the focus on increased content ownership given more OTT (over-the-top) options globally,” said Stifel analyst Benjamin Mogil in a research report. Asked about rumors that CBS is interested in cable network Starz , Moonves said, “We look at everything.” Here’s a sampling of analyst reaction to the CBS investor day, its first since 2011: “The long-term roadmap for CBS’s fundamentals gained a lot more clarity yesterday and supported our thesis that CBS is the best mix shift opportunity in media,” said Daniel Salmon, analyst at BMO Capital Markets. CBS says that it expects $2.5 billion in “retransmission” programming fees in 2020, up from its earlier outlook of $2 billion. Piper Jaffray analyst Stan Meyers wrote: “Management believes by 2020 advertising revenues will represent less 40% of revenues as new initiatives take hold, down from 50% today and 65% a few years ago.” Andy Hargreaves, analyst at Pacific Crest Securities, has a neutral rating on CBS stock. “The overarching theme of the analyst day was a deeper push into production and ownership of content. While this is a quality business, we believe distribution will dominate economics as supply of content increases in an Internet world.” IBD’s Media-Diversified group ranks just No. 101 out of 197 industry groups. Aside from CBS, companies in that group with high IBD Composite Ratings include Scripps Network Interactive ( SNI ) and Walt Disney ( DIS ).

Comcast’s NBCU Turns Up Heat On Dish Amid YES Network Dispute

Comcast ( CMCSA )-owned NBCUniversal is turning up the heat on satellite TV broadcaster Dish Network ( DISH ) amid contract renewal talks for programming. Dish Network already is facing tough negotiations with Viacom ( VIA ). Comcast, on the other side as a pay-TV provider, has been in a dispute with sports channel YES Network over programming fees. NBCU has launched a marketing campaign warning viewers they could be blacked out on Dish Network by March 20, says Broadcasting & Cable . NBCU owns cable channels USA Network, Syfy, Bravo, CNBC and MSNBC. Dish on Tuesday afternoon said it expects to file for arbitration in the dispute with NBCU. “Under the conditions imposed by the FCC and Department of Justice in approving the Comcast-NBCUniversal merger, NBC is forbidden from blacking out its networks if a pay-TV provider chooses, in its sole discretion, to exercise its right for binding arbitration,” Dish said in a statement. Viacom’s 24 cable networks, meanwhile, include MTV, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central. Dish Network has had disputes with CBS ( CBS ), 21st Century Fox ( FOXA ) and Time Warner’ s ( TWX ) Turner Broadcasting unit. Comcast is at an impasse with YES Network. Fox took majority control of the YES Network in 2014 from the New York Yankees’ parent company. The Comcast-YES Network dispute affects about 900,000 Comcast customers in New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania. According to an Oppenheimer research report, Fox Networks sought a 33% fee increase for YES programming. Walt Disney ’s ( DIS ) ESPN garners the highest content fees. “We believe programming costs will rise sharply in the near term but will moderate in the longer term as lower advertising revenues and cord cutting weaken the bargaining power of the content providers and ultimately break the paid-TV model,” wrote Oppenheimer analyst Tim Horan. “Programming costs have risen at three times the growth rate of (cable company) revenues during the last five years.”

Sony Takes Internet TV Service PlayStation Vue Nationwide

Hoping to attract cable TV cord-cutters and cord-nevers, Sony ( SNE ) on Monday took its Internet-based PlayStation Vue service nationwide. Sony launched its live and on-demand TV service in March 2015 in test markets, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, San Francisco and Miami. PlayStation Vue offers “skinny TV” bundles of channels starting at $29.99 a month, with no long-term contracts or hidden fees. It competes with a similar online service from Dish Network ( DISH ) called Sling TV. PlayStation Vue boasts that it offers the most popular channels, including AMC, CNN, Discovery, Disney and ESPN. However, content from ABC, FOX ( FOX ) and NBC is available for now only as on-demand content in Vue’s Slim multichannel plans. Most on-demand content will be available within 24 hours after broadcast. CBS ( CBS ) programming will be added later, Sony said in a press release . Sony Network Entertainment International (SNEI) said that it is working to add live local broadcast stations across all networks. Vue offers three service plans. Access Slim has over 55 channels and costs $29.99 a month; Core Slim has over 70 channels for $34.99 a month; and Elite Slim has over 100 channels for $44.99 a month. The Vue service is accessible through Sony’s PlayStation 3 and 4 game consoles, Amazon.com ( AMZN ) Fire TV and Fire TV Stick, as well as the Apple ( AAPL ) iPad and iPhone with the Vue mobile app. “Since launching a year ago, our priority with PlayStation Vue has been to secure the best TV content for our audience and make it available to consumers nationwide; today, we’re delivering on that promise,” Eric Lempel, senior vice president of marketing and head of SNEI’s PlayStation Network Americas, said in a statement. “PlayStation Vue has been an ambitious project from the start, and national expansion demonstrates our ability to innovate in an industry that’s overdue for a reinvented experience. “Thanks to the strong network relationships we’ve forged and technology we’ve built, consumers nationwide can enjoy a better way to watch TV.” Sony PlayStation Vue has program deals with AMC Networks ( AMCX ), CBS, Discovery Communications ( DISCA ), Disney ( DIS )/ABC Television Group, ESPN, Fox, NBCUniversal, Scripps Networks Interactive ( SNI ), Turner Broadcasting and Viacom ( VIAB ). Vue also offers customers a cloud-based DVR, which allows users to store thousands of hours of content with conflict-free recording.