CBS Corp.

“CBS had a record year in 2012, as well as a record fourth quarter, and the momentum is building for an even better 2013,” said Leslie Moonves, president-CEO, CBS Corp. “Advertising revenue is growing, and our revenue from non-advertising sources continues to grow even faster.”

CBS Corp. is taking a minority stake in AXS TV, the nascent music-oriented cable channel owned by billionaire Mark Cuban and Los Angeles entertainment giant AEG. CBS will receive an undisclosed interest in the high-definition network in exchange for providing programming and marketing to the joint venture.

The Consumer Electronics Association has dropped CBS-owned CNET as the group that chooses winners of the annual “Best of CES” awards over chages of conflict of interest. CES also elevated the CNET writers’ initial pick for the best gadget of the show, Dish Network”s The Hopper, to co-winner along with a gaming tablet called Razer Edge.

The site’s editorial policy after its CES Awards nightmare leads to fancy footwork by the news team.

The TV network says the satellite TV provider “deliberately failed to disclose” the automatic ad-skipping features during contract negotiations in 2011.

Pivotal Research Group’s Brian Wieser’s generating a lot of buzz on Wall Street today with a report that makes the case for a deal. CBS chief Les Moonves has said he’s interested in Sony Pictures, although the Tokyo-based company says it’s not selling. Wieser finds it “difficult to imagine” that the struggling electronics giant would reject a serious offer for the studio, which doesn’t clearly fit with its other operations. He figures the studio could go for at least $10 billion.

Dish Network has charged CBS Corp. with censoring its CNET site. Dish said in a statement that CBS directed the tech site to no longer consider a Dish product for an award, since CBS is engaged in litigation looking to shut it down.

The CBS distribution executive will assume a newly created role as senior vice president and chief corporate content licensing officer.

“Pretty incredible,” says CBS CEO Leslie Moonves of the million-dollar local spot in a third-quarter earnings call with analysts. And spots in the network broadcast of the big game have sold for more than $4 million, he says. CBS scatter is “very strong…accelerating as we speak,” he says, and retrans fees and reverse comp from affiliates are expected to continue to drive revenue growth in coming years.

Political ad money and retransmission consent increases power the increase. Overall, the company’s revenues were up 2% to $3.42 billion from the same period a year ago.

CBS is making a $1 million dollar donation to Hurricane Sandy recovery as part of a wider effort that includes PSAs and matching employee contributions through the end of the year.

The 63-year-old CEO redid his contract this week. The first installment of the new signing bonus was due Thursday, when he was to receive $7.5 million worth of stock options. In 2013, he is entitled to restricted stock units that will be valued at $14.5 million on the day they are issued.

Sanford C. Bernstein analyst Todd Juenger today lowered his price target on CBS Corp.’s stock by $2 to $37, citing the “awful start” to the U.S. fall TV season for broadcasters that led him to bring down his earnings forecasts for the company.

The company extends the current contract with CBS Corp. President Leslie Moonves an additional two years, through June 2017, after which he has the option to set up his own production company under CBS.

CBS Corp is considering a bid for Dick Clark Productions and would join other bidders including American Idol host Ryan Seacrest, who have until Aug. 31 to make offers, two sources familiar with the matter say.

In the company’s quarterly conference call, Joe Ianniello, EVP-CFO, said its Local Broadcasting unit is pacing up high single digits for 3Q, led by the TV stations, which are pacing up in the teens. That growth by the O&O TV group is “driven by political, auto and the entertainment category.”

Automotive spending, political advertising and higher retrans revenue all contribute. Overall, the company’s net earnings were up 8% to $427 million.

CBS Corp. and CEO Leslie Moonves have an arrangement that could provide him with at least $18 million for a production business after his contract expires. Under the arrangement, CBS would also have to order three series executive-produced by Moonves or pay him penalties.

Increased spending by automotive manufacturers and retailers as well as higher retransmission revenues were offset by lower advertising spending from the utilities and service industries. The company as a whole recorded revenue of almost $4 billion, a 12% increase over last year at this time, and its best 1Q since 2006.

The TV Guide Network, which is up for sale along with its companion site, is drawing interest from potential suitors Discovery Communications and CBS Corp. Lionsgate Entertainment owns the TV Guide channel, brand name and online property TVGuide.com, along with JPMorgan’s private-equity arm, One Equity Partners.

The company says the decrease is “entirely attributable to lower political advertising sales as well as lost revenues resulting from the NBA lockout during 2011.”

Increased retransmission consent revenue and stronger ad performance can’t compensate for the lack of political dollars.

The CEO of CBS tells securities analysts that the company is on target to reap $250 million from retransmission consent deals involving its O&Os. Add to that what it expects to get in retrans sharing or reverse compensation from its affiliates and the retrans-related revenue swells to as much as $700 million in the next three to five years, he said. “We’ve made a number of these affiliate deals for reverse comp without pulling down any signals anywhere…. Everybody’s happy.”

CBS Corp. and Netflix Inc. today announced a two-year, non-exclusive international licensing agreement that will enable certain television shows from across CBS Corp. to be streamed instantly to Netflix subscribers […]

Amazon Prime customers will be able to instantly watch thousands of episodes from the CBS library at no additional cost to their membership. With the deal, Amazon will add 2,000 episodes to grow the total number of Prime instant videos to more than 8,000 movies and television shows.

The growth was led by increases in key advertising categories, including automotive, financial services and travel and leisure as well as retrans revenue.

Jim Lanzone, who is CEO of Clicker, will replace Neil Ashe as the online video guide’s president, who announced a desire to leave the company in December. Ashe has been president of CBS Interactive since CBS acquired CNET Networks Inc. in June 2008.

Leslie Moonves, CBS president-CEO, tells analysts that the company’s retrans money should hit $250 million in two years. But he didn’t say how much it expects to get from its affiliates in reverse compensation.

Automotive, political and financial services advertising increases propel growth.