Re: Leno to stay at NBC 10pm

Moonves feels confident vs. Leno
CBS CEO says host no match for 'CSI'


"Tonight Show" host Jay Leno's jump to primetime next year at rival
NBC is "a plus for us," said CBS Corp. CEO Leslie Moonves on
Wednesday. "Taking a third (broadcast) competitor out of the
marketplace will make us even stronger," he said.

"I will bet anybody who would like to bet that 'CSI: Miami' on Monday
at 10 o'clock will beat Jay by a lot. Remember that. By a lot," a
cocky Moonves told investors at a media conference in Gotham.

As showbiz execs and Wall Streeters confront a business buffeted by an
ugly recession, Moonves said advertising rates were flat from spring
upfront levels but down from this time a year ago. The virtual
disappearance of car commercials is still the single biggest blow by
far. "We need automotive back," Moonves said.

Perhaps there's hope. Also on Wednesday, congressional Democrats and
the Bush White House finalized a controversial $14 billion bailout
package for automakers. If the Big Three aren't going bankrupt after
all, they're going to have to sell some cars.

Separately at the conference, Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes warned that
the bankruptcies of two major retailers -- Circuit City in the U.S.
and Woolworths Group in the U.K. -- as well as Tribune Co. earlier
this week could squeeze revenue at the media giant. "It's not easy to
say. The visibility has become more difficult," he said.

Moonves also discussed a provocative topic that's bound to ruffle
feathers: the possibility that the CBS Network could eventually sell
its signals directly to cable operators, bypassing the affiliated
stations that now broadcast its shows. Cable operators have asked him
about that, he said in response to a question. "Down the road, that's
something that could happen, but maybe five or 10 years down the road"
-- or once the network's long-term deals with affiliate stations
expire.

Such a move would be a radical jolt to the TV biz. Asked later in the
session what options the local stations would have in that case,
Moonves insisted that the relationship between the CBS network and its
affiliates is good (although it could become "obsolete" in the future)
and he's not thinking about changing it anytime soon.

Moonves said his quest for cash from cable operators in return for
retransmission consent is progressing. CBS is in active, "productive"
conversations with a few of the major MSOs, he said. The network
expects to have a fairly important announcement in a few weeks and,
ultimately, an additional $200 million flowing into CBS coffers that
will drop straight to the bottom line.

"We have not yet pulled our signal off of any cable systems. I hope it
doesn't come to that; I don't think it will. It's not a good time (to
take CBS off the air)," he said. But, "The CBS network provides a good
service to the cable operators and should be paid for it."

Asked about CBS Films, he said the division, launched last year, has
ramped up to 22 employees and is in active development on a number of
projects, with production likely to start in the spring. The division
will put out three to four movies a year initially, all budgeted under
$50 million, with most falling in the $10 million-$40 million range.
It will distribute its own films domestically and choose a partner for
international.

"I'm very excited about expanding our content business," Moonves said.

The studio's first major announcement was acquiring film rights to
bestselling author Vince Flynn's series of novels about
counterterrorism operative Mitch Rapp. The studio hopes to create an
action- thriller movie franchise around the character.

Moonves says using CBS' rich resources -- TV and radio stations plus
billboards -- to market the movies will help make the film venture
"cost effective." Product will be fed to CBS' premium cable network,
Showtime, whose own output deals with several key studio suppliers
expire at the end of next year. Instead of going to Showtime, the
films will flow to a new movie channel being created by Paramount, MGM
and Lionsgate.

Showtime still has output deals with the Weinstein Co. and Summit
Entertainment, the studio behind current box office phenomenon
"Twilight." The four-year Summit pact may cover as many as 42
pictures, including possible "Twilight" sequels.

Moonves said Showtime's success depends less on movies and more on its
original programming, which has been on a bit of a roll with shows
like "Weeds," "Dexter," "The Tudors" and "Californication."

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117997189.html?categoryid=10&ref=ra&cs=1
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