CBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS) posted Q2 net earnings of $404 million, or $.55 per diluted share, down 21.2 percent from last year’s $489.8 million, or $.64 per diluted share, which included a tax benefit of $129 million. Revenue dropped 3 percent to $3.4 billion in Q2 from $3.5 billion the year before. In explaining the declines, CBS cited the absence of UPN, which ceased broadcasting in September 2006. Also, CBS said the difference between this year’s results and last year’s were based on the timing of the semifinals of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, which aired in the 1Q this year and Q2 last year. Aside from briefly highlighting its $280 million purchase of Last.FM during the quarter, CBS did not break out results for its digital initiatives. Its report did include:
— For the first half of 2007, net earnings dropped 17.3 percent to $617.5 million, or $.83 per diluted share, compared to $724.3 million, or $.94 per diluted share, for the same prior-year period. For H107, revenues fell $26 million to $7.03 billion from last year.
Earnings release (PDF) | Webcast
Update: From the earnings call: Digital is still a very small part of CBS’ business, but the company may consider breaking out the revenues for that segment as it continues to grow. CFO Fred Reynolds: “Digital is growing rapidly, in the 50- to 60 percent range, anchored by Sportsline, which is a nice, healthy-sized business… We’re looking at [breaking out financial results for interactive at] some point in the future – as we’ve added Last.FM and others, it is getting more significant. Down the road, we would expect [interactive] to be 5-plus percent of our revenue. Starting with the $14 billion base of revenues, that would be a big business, and more importantly, a high margin business.”
— CEO Les Moonves in response to a question as to whether CBS is in talks with Google regarding inventory sharing on the radio or TV sides: “We’re in discussion with everybody over everything all the time. There had been a potential deal with Google to sell some of our radio inventory and those discussions are ongoing – they get hot, they don’t get hot. But they continue.”
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