CBS Hints at Better-Than-Expected 4Q

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Even as Oprah Winfrey reportedly mulls leaving the network for her own cable channel, CBS(CBS) boss Leslie Moonves hinted late Thursday that the company's fourth-quarter results will come in better than expected, receiving a big boost from strengthening spot rates for television ads.

In response to questions during a conference call to discuss third-quarter results with analysts, Moonves explained that CBS decided to not sell ad inventory earlier in the year, when prices were weak. The company has been rewarded, evidently, as rates for spot TV ads have climbed 25% compared with earlier in the year, during the so-called "upfronts," when the networks hawk their fall shows to advertisers.

Moonves said these higher-priced spot ads will comprise 35% of CBS's fourth-quarter ad inventory, helping revenue in the period come in at more than twice the level of the year-ago quarter. "We are getting very good pricing," Moonves said during the call. "It will affect the fourth-quarter network revenue in a very positive way, and it is not insignificant."

Friday morning, CBS shares fell 3.8% to $12.30.

For its third quarter, CBS said adjusted earnings, which excludes items, came to 25 cents a share, better than the 22 cents analysts were expecting. Revenue in the quarter -- $3.35 billion -- topped estimates by about $150 million.

A year ago, CBS wrote down the value of its assets to an enormous degree, booking a $13.5 billion loss. Revenue for the third quarter of 2008 was $3.38 billion.

-- Written by Scott Eden in New York

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