CBS Corp. said first-quarter net income rose just 1.1% as the company faced difficult comparisons with a year-earlier period that included a broadcast of
XLVII.
The owner of the CBS television network,
and Simon & Schuster said revenue came to $3.86 billion in the period, compared with $4.04 billion a year earlier. CBS said activity around the Super Bowl broadcast had brought in more than $280 million in revenue in early 2013.
The company’s first-quarter net income came to $468 million, or 78 cents per share, compared with $463 million, or 73 cents per share in the earlier period.
Entertainment revenues for the first quarter fell 9% to $2.30 billion from $2.54 billion in 2013, owing to the Super Bowl broadcast in 2013 as well as the broadcast of two fewer NCAA men’s basketball championship games in the first quarter of 2014.
Revenue from cable networks rose 12% to $537 million from $478 million in the year-earlier period, owing to higher revenues from the licensing of Showtime original series as well as higher affiliate revenues that came about from increases in rates and subscriptions at Showtime, CBS Sports Network, and Smithsonian Networks.
Publishing revenue fell 11% to $153 million from $171 million, CBS said, owing to difficult sales comparisons with the year-earlier period.
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