LOS ANGELES (AP) — Broadcaster CBS says earnings rose 31 percent in the final quarter of 2011, thanks to licensing shows to online video companies such as Netflix.
Those benefits helped CBS Corp. overcome a drop in ad sales due to a lack of political advertising in an off-election year. The company also did not benefit again from the sale of its “CSI” show into reruns as it did a year earlier.
Net income rose to $370 million, or 55 cents per share, from $283 million, or 41 cents per share.
Excluding one-time items, adjusted earnings came to 57 cents per share, beating the 53 cents expected by analysts polled by FactSet.
Revenue fell 3 percent to $3.78 billion from $3.9 billion. That was below the $3.9 billion expected by analysts.
