CBS reported a gigantic 16 percent increase in subscription and affiliate revenue in the fourth quarter, pushing the stock up 4.3 percent in after-hours trading to a new 52-week high.
The Tiffany Network, which just bagged eights weeks of NFL Thursday-night football, is trying to loosen its reliance on cyclical advertising revenue and lean more toward content sales and subscription fees.
Run by Chief Executive Les Moonves, the company rang up $2.2 billion in subscription and affiliate revenue from its partners last year, it said.
Moonves set a new target of $2 billion in retransmission and reverse compensation by 2020, which is sure to unnerve its affiliates and distribution partners.
The storied broadcast network collects compensation from local stations who bargain with cable operators to collect fees for their signal.
Chief Operating Officer Joe Ianniello noted that the NFL games may help CBS’ push for more cash from distributors.
When asked about the Supreme Court hearing over the legality of Aereo, a new service that uses antennas instead of cable companies to broadcast TV signals, Moonves told investors that a win for Aereo “is not going to be a financial handicap at all.”
The company reported a better-than-expected fourth quarter revenue rise of 6 percent, to $3.9 billion, thanks to digital-distribution deals for shows such as “The Good Wife.” Operating income rose 9 percent, to $793 million.
Shares closed at $61.85, but rose $2.67 in extended trading to $64.52.