CBS (NYSE: CBS) is ready to take the path (for now) less traveled and increase its business with Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX) and other emerging distribution sources, company executives said during a first quarter earnings call.
The Netflix deal, signed in February, "is going to generate hundreds of millions of new dollars" in CBS revenues, President-CEO Les Moonves said during the earnings call. Since that deal is nonexclusive and limited to the U.S. "not only can we sell this program again domestically, but we will also look to sell the same content online internationally as well and with competition for Netflix growing all the time, there is a great possibility that several new prudent deals are on the horizon."
While Moonves didn't reveal any deals, he did report ongoing "serious discussions with Netflix" for deals in Latin America and Canada that "might happen fairly quickly." Also, there is potential for working with Amazon.com and, perhaps a bit further down the line, Dish Network's (Nasdaq: DISH) newly acquired Blockbuster business.
"I don't believe that Blockbuster was bought by Dish to be a bunch of stores selling cassettes," Moonves said. "I think they are a content place that wants our content. So the world for premium content providers gets bigger and bigger across the board."
For more:
- listen to the CBS earnings webcast
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