CBS boss Les Moonves is interested in buying a cable entertainment network — at the right price.
“Are there cable networks we could run better than other people? Yes,” Moonves said today at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia Conference in New York.
CBS has largely sat out the cable business as rival media giants loaded up over the past two decades. Those cable units now drive profitability for the likes of Disney, Time Warner and Viacom, which owned CBS before the company was split.
The demand for cash-cow cable networks means they don’t come cheap, however.
“Would we like a general entertainment channel at the right price? Absolutely,” Moovnes said.
CBS does own premium network Showtime, a small sports service, CBS Sports and Smithsonian Networks. It also has international cable holdings.