Posted by chicagomedia.org on May 08, 2009 at 12:38:35:
CBS Radio Revenues Drop Double Digits In Q1
NEW YORK -- May 7, 2009: CBS Radio's revenues declined by 29 percent in the first quarter of this year, with the CBS Corp. division bringing in $259.7 million, down from $363.5 million in Q1 2008. The decline was, CBS said, "primarily due to the weak advertising market," but the absence of revenues from former deals with Westwood and from Denver stations that have been sold were also factors.
Radio OIBDA was down 57 percent, to $52.2 million, while operating income was down 62 percent, to $42.7 million. The absence of Q1 '08's $10 million in restructuring charges and lower talent and employee-related costs partly offset the declines, CBS said.
CBS's television endeavors saw a 12 percent decline in revenues in the quarter, to $2.23 billion from $2.54 billion, principally due to lower ad revenues and TV license fees, partly offset by higher affiliate fees and home entertainment revenues. TV OIBDA was down 49 percent, to $228.7 million, with operating income off 54 percent, to $184.7 million.
For CBS Corp. as a whole, revenues came in at $3.16 billion in the first quarter, down 13.4 percent from $3.65 billion in Q1 2008. OIBDA was $249.8 million, down .1 percent from $642 million, with operating income at $107.5 million, down 79.7 percent from $524.2 million. The decreases were due to lower ad revenues, CBS said, as well as the absence of some items that benefited the company in the first quarter of last year, partly offset by lower expenses from cost-savings initiatives, the CNET acquisition, and the absence of restructuring charges.
CBS saw a net loss of $55.3 million (8 cents per share) in Q1, compared to net income of $244.3 million (36 cents) a year ago.
"Like other companies, our results were affected by the economic downturn that continued during the first quarter," said CBS Corp. President/CEO Les Moonves. "In addition, there were a number of factors that had an impact on comparability. The advertising marketplace remained relatively robust through the first half of last year. And last year's first quarter benefited from several special items, including the shift to self-distribution of our CSI franchise internationally, significantly lower production costs as a result of the writers' strike, and record political advertising revenues, which were not repeated this year. We are confident that the second half of the year will bring improved results due to a strong slate of syndication releases, the effect of cost reductions that were made last year, and early signs of an improving local advertising marketplace."