Cbs Corp

The anemic advertising market drained the profit from CBS Corp. The broadcasting company, which owns the CBS network, television and radio stations and a bevy of billboards, on Thursday reported a first-quarter net loss of $55.3 million, or 8 cents a share. That compared with net income of $244.3 million, or 36 cents, for the same period last year.

CBS Corp.might be a titan of old media but its first-quarter earnings were boosted by gains in new media: the digital distribution of its television programming and the sale of e-books. The New York-based broadcasting company beat analyst estimates with 80% higher net earnings for the quarter ended March 31. The company earned $363 million, or 54 cents per diluted share, up from $202 million, or 29 cents per diluted share, compared with the year-earlier period. The substantially higher margin came from growth in operating income as well as lower weighted average shares as a result of the company's stock repurchase program.

Westinghouse Electric Corp. said it will be known as CBS Corp. after it spins off its industrial businesses later this year to create a pure broadcasting company. The media company will also use the CBS "eye" as its logo. The decision to use the CBS name and logo came after a $30,000 study by corporate-identity consultant Lippincott & Margulies concluded CBS was a logical choice because it's recognized around the world.

Viacom Inc. and CBS Corp. Chairman Sumner Redstone was etched in entertainment history Friday when he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The aging mogul's family members and some of Hollywood's most powerful executives were on hand to witness the tribute on Hollywood Boulevard, just outside the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, where the first Oscar ceremony was held. Viacom Chief Executive Philippe Dauman compared Redstone to Adolph Zukor, the visionary New York nickelodeon owner who became one of the first people to make big money in movies.

The new Viacom Inc. said its board voted to pay a $5.4-billion special dividend to the new CBS Corp. The companies, whose stocks are to begin trading publicly Tuesday, will be separate companies after the former Viacom splits in two. The dividend had been specified under the terms of the split. The new Viacom said it used a $6-billion loan to fund the payment.

CBS Corp. said it would buy in-store programming and advertising company SignStorey Inc. for $71.5 million in cash to expand its out-of-home business. SignStorey has installed video displays that show ads delivered by satellite in supermarkets in six of the top 10 markets in the U.S.

The Federal Communications Commission denied CBS Corp.'s request for another review of a $550,000 fine imposed for the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show in which singer Janet Jackson's breast was exposed. The agency, headed by Chairman Kevin Martin, said it rejected CBS' claim that the show wasn't indecent. The FCC found CBS' violation was willful, and dismissed CBS' claim that the indecency rules were vague. "We will continue to pursue all remedies necessary to affirm our legal rights," CBS said.

CBS Corp., owner of the No. 1-rated U.S. television network, says it plans several more transactions giving it ownership stakes in Internet companies in exchange for advertising across CBS media. The company said Thursday that it's buying a 35% stake in the health-care Internet site Medscape Inc. in exchange for $150 million worth of promotion. The next such purchase is expected to be announced in two to three weeks, CBS Chief Financial Officer Fredric Reynolds said in an interview.

CBS Corp. plans to buy a 38% stake in online employment service Jobs.com Inc. in exchange for $62 million in advertising for five years. CBS' majority-owned Infinity Broadcasting Corp., the second-largest U.S. radio company, would be part of the investment. CBS also would get two seats on Jobs.com's board. The acquisition of closely held Jobs.com would be the fourth Internet-related purchase for New York-based CBS since July, and would bring CBS' Internet investments to 11.

CBS Corp. said its fourth-quarter loss narrowed on cost cutting and higher advertising at its television and radio stations and broadcast and cable networks. The company also said it will buy back as much as $1 billion of its stock and suspend its dividend. That is part of CBS' effort to use cash flow to boost its share price, which has already gained 69% in the last 12 months.

Now comes the hard part. After seven years of transforming itself into a showcase of original dramas about subversive characters, Showtime is poised for another makeover. The premium channel confirmed that its programming chief, Robert Greenblatt — who nudged into the television zeitgeist distinctive shows about a police blood splatter expert/serial killer; a Southern California widow turned pot dealer; lusty and beautiful young royals of the Tudor era; and a burned-out, pill-popping nurse — is leaving the network next month when his contract expires.

Michael H. Jordan, a skilled troubleshooter who held leadership roles at CBS, PepsiCo and Westinghouse, died Tuesday in New York from complications related to cancer, CBS Corp. announced. He was 73. Jordan was instrumental in crafting the media conglomerate that became the CBS of today as its chairman and chief executive. As the top executive at Westinghouse Electric Corp., he engineered the acquisition of CBS in 1995. He later shed Westinghouse's industrial businesses and kept the media business.

CBS News, seeking to hold down news-gathering costs as its flagship evening and morning news programs continue to trail in the ratings, is preparing a significant round of layoffs next week, according to people familiar with the situation. The budget tightening is expected to affect every CBS News program, including "60 Minutes," the network's crown jewel, though the cuts on that show will be minimal. As many as 100 positions, or 7% of CBS News' 1,400-person staff, could be cut, these people said.

CBS Corp., acknowledging Tuesday that it has changed its policy and now accepts commercials that advocate political causes, defended its decision to run a politically sensitive advertisement during next month's Super Bowl. The thicket that CBS finds itself in could become increasingly common for TV networks and local stations. Last week the U.S. Supreme Court lifted a decades-old prohibition that prevented corporations from buying ads and financing candidates and campaigns. Now media analysts are predicting that as much as $500 million in corporate money could flood this year's political campaigns, unleashing a torrent of issue advertising that will force TV executives to weigh the ever-shifting debate about which commercials cross the line.

Dan Rather's protracted legal fight with CBS ended Tuesday when New York state's highest court declined to hear the anchor's motion to reinstate his $70-million lawsuit against his longtime employer. Rather was hoping the court would breathe new life into his suit alleging breach of contract and fraud against CBS that a state appellate court had dismissed in September. But the Court of Appeals denied Rather's motion without comment. The decision came as muted denouement to what had been an expensive and at times ugly battle between the veteran newsman and the network that was his home for 44 years.

Nancy Tellem, one of Hollywood's top female executives, said Thursday that she was stepping down as president of the CBS network's entertainment group. But she won't be going far. In January, Tellem will take on a new role as a senior advisor to CBS Corp. Chief Executive Leslie Moonves. She will concentrate on new business initiatives, partnerships and emerging technologies. The move had been expected. For two years Tellem has wanted to step back from the day-to-day management of the broadcast network's programming and its television production studio.

CBS Corp. has named a longtime outside director to become the company's new chairman, leaving Mel Karmazin as the top executive in charge. David McLaughlin will succeed Chairman Michael Jordan, who is retiring, and take the post of nonexecutive chairman starting Jan. 1, CBS said Wednesday. Karmazin, currently the company's president, was tapped two months ago to assume Jordan's role of chief executive. Karmazin had been running CBS' day-to-day operations since being named president in April.

CBS Corp.'s Infinity Broadcasting Corp., one of the largest U.S. radio and billboard companies, said it plans to sell 135 million Class A common shares for between $19 and $22 each in its initial public offering. At the $20.50 midpoint of the expected price range, Infinity would raise $2.8 billion before expenses, according to its filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

CBS Corp. Chief Executive Leslie Moonves is one happy man. "Life is so much better for us than it was a year ago," he said Tuesday morning at the UBS media conference in New York. "Last year the advertising market was on the ropes, stations were getting socked, and CBS stock seemed to be in a free fall. But CBS' stock is back up and most of its core businesses are humming." Moonves was characteristically upbeat and confident. "I'm tired of reading how network television is down," he said.