Good day everyone, and welcome to the CBS Corporation Third Quarter 2019 Earnings Release Teleconference. Today's call is being recorded. At this time, I'd like to turn the call over to the Executive Vice President of Investor Relations, Mr. Anthony Diclemente. Please go ahead.

Thank you and good morning everyone and welcome to our third quarter 2019 earnings call. Joining us with today's remarks are, Joe Ianniello, our President and Acting CEO; and Chris Spade, our Chief Financial Officer. Following Joe and Chris' remarks, we will open the call up to questions. Please note that during today's conference call, results will be discussed on an adjusted basis unless otherwise specified. Reconciliations to non-GAAP financial information related to this call can be found in our earnings release or on our website. Also note that statements on this conference call relating to matters, which are not historical facts are forward-looking statements, which involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ. Risks and uncertainties are disclosed in CBS Corporation's SEC filings. In connection with the pending merger with Viacom Inc., CBS has filed a registration statement on Form S-4, which was declared effective by SEC on October 25th that contains important information regarding the transaction. Today’s remarks do not constitute an offer to buy or sell or the solicitation of any offer to buy or sell any securities or a solicitation of any vote or approval. A webcast of this call and the earnings release related to today's presentation can also be found on the Investor Relations section of our website at cbsorporation.com. And before we begin, I want to note that the focus of this morning’s call is to discuss CBS Corporation’s standalone financial results. And with that, I'll turn the call over to Joe.

Thank you, Anthony, and good morning everyone. I am pleased you can join us today. Before we discuss our third quarter results, I want to give you an update on our merger with Viacom. As you may have heard, our S-4 has been declared effective and we are on track to close in just a few weeks. In the mean time, we continue to announce a number of key leadership positions for ViacomCBS including the people who will oversee ad sales, affiliate revenue, and content licensing, as well as our top programming and digital executives and we remain fully focused on integrating these two great companies. As we head into the merger, I am very pleased with the way we have positioned CBS to thrive in its ever-changing media landscape. We have proven, we know how to strategically invest in the right content, on the right platforms to drive growth and the company will reap the benefits going forward. Our front-loaded content investment is the key reason we are driving sustained revenue growth across direct-to-consumer, content licensing, advertising and our linear distribution revenue. And in terms of dollars, the biggest increase during the third quarter came from a revenue source that’s been at the forefront of our growth plan, retrans, reverse comp and virtual MVPDs which were up 18% despite CBS being off the air with AT&T for more than 20% of the quarter. And now, as a result of our new carriage deals, our retrains revenue will accelerate here in the fourth quarter, plus about 50% of our retrans footprint and about 30% of our reverse comp footprint are coming up for renewal next year, which means, we will have another strong year of healthy gains from retrans and reverse comp in 2020, as we continue to reset the…

Thank you, Jo and good morning everyone. As you heard, our strategy of increasing our investment in premium content continues to fuel our success. We are driving revenue growth in retrans and reverse comp, direct-to-consumer and content licensing. As a result, we continue to strengthen our business model by diversifying our revenue mix. And with our proven record of creating hit shows, and monetizing them across platforms and around the world, we are poised for continued growth as the media landscape continues to evolve. Now let me tell you more about our third quarter results. Revenue of $3.3 billion grew 1% from last year when we had record political spending. As you heard, the results were also affected by the temporary impacts of a 19-day carriage dispute with one of our distributors. Combined, these two items affected our revenue growth by two points. Even so, we delivered record revenue for the quarter. With regard to our three key revenue sources, affiliate and subscription fees were up 12%, driven by healthy increases in revenue from retrans, reverse comp, virtual MVPDs and direct-to-consumer. As a result, affiliate and subscription fees represented 34% of our overall revenue during the quarter reflecting our more diversified business model. In addition, our direct-to-consumer subs continue to grow strongly and were up 62% and as we continue to add more original content, retention rates are increasing and churn rates are declining. Next, content licensing and distribution revenue increased 1%, mainly due to higher sales for the third-party platform including season two of Insatiable, which dropped on NetFlix last month. By producing more programming for third parties, as well as for our own platforms, we are adding to our library of programming that we can monetize in the years to come. Advertising was down 7% from last year…

[Operator Instructions] And our first question will come from Ben Swinburne with Morgan Stanley. Please go ahead.

Thanks, good morning. I want to hear from you guys a little bit more about the content investment strategy and plans looking forward. One of the things that in the S-4 forecast kind of brought to lie is how much you are investing back in the business. And you talked a bit about it in your prepared remarks, but I just wanted to give you a chance to talk a little bit more about where that money is being directed? How you think about producing content for your own platform for the third-parties? And maybe most importantly, Joe, how you think about monetizing it? Because, you are obviously ramping production quite a bit across a lot of the different businesses at CBS, but I think it would be important to help us think about how you view ultimately earning attractive return on that. And then, I would just like to add as a follow-up that related on the sports side of the Champions League decision was really interesting. How do you think about getting bigger in sports either on the digital or how you think about sports rights on digital versus linear platforms as you look out over the next kind of three to five years? So, it’s really a contact question, but touching on Entertainment and Sports.

Yes, I got it, Ben. Look, I think our investment, I mean, we really view it as kind of success-based CapEx. So, as you see, we’ve been ramping up the spend, just use – as a parameter, we had a zero originals on a few years ago. We didn’t go from zero to 11, we went from zero to three to seven to 11. So, we’ve really seen the proof points along the way that justify that investment. We are seeing much higher usage rates. We are seeing when folks come to the service for an original and view two to originals, the retention rate is significantly higher. So, we look at that and that investment is driving value, not just on D2C, but obviously on advertising, as well – as well as content licensing. I think you make the point that we can monetize these things down the road. We like to think about it – we call it strategic windowing. So we have the content on All Access. You’ve seen us view that with a Good Fight, you’ve seen the season one come to the CBS Broadcast Network in this summer. So we are really trying to be strategic to drive more subscribers to the direct-to-consumer services. And like I said, the same applies really for Showtime. So, on the Entertainment side, again, the investment spend is our best and highest use and we continue to validate that with every proof point. On the sports side, we are really excited about this opportunity. I think one of the reasons we won these rights was really because that we had digital and broadcast, because what we will do is, we will take certain matches kind of the championships, if you will, the play-offs, and air those on the CBS Broadcast Network which has the massive reach. So that was very important to the leagues – the league for our bid. So, I think, where you can have the volume and we are talking about over 400 games over a nine month season, it just it’s a lot of games, a lot of volume. We think it’s going to reduce churn. We think it drives subscribers. There are loyal fans. It is obviously the most popular sport in the world. So, we are going to continue to drive and make these prudent investments, because again, we are seeing the returns and we want to stay focused on being smart about that.

Hi, Ben it’s Chris.

Thanks, Joe.

To that, I would just add the key word there that Joe said is prudent investment. So, again, it’s about the proof points leaning into what we see it’s also doing it in a way that we can spend our cash flow in a smart way and sustain our investment-grade rating.

Thank you both.

Thanks, Ben. Operator, we will take our next question please.

Certainly. And your next question will come from Jessica Reif Ehrlich with Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Please go ahead.

Thank you. I have – I will ask both of my questions now. You have an unusually large amount of retrans and reverse comp deals coming up in the next year. I think, with the some of the deals coming up or longer term deals which implies they are underpriced in today’s markets, so can you talk about your approach to the next set of negotiations including potentially bundling with Viacom’s channels? And the second question is, now that you have announced all these management changes for the new company, on advertising, you’ve put everything under Jo Ann Ross. So she is probably the most experienced and respected advertising executive in the U.S. today. Can you talk about how your approach will be different with a larger portfolio of assets?

Sure. Thanks, Jessica. In retrans reverse comp, that’s right, as I said in my prepared remarks on the retrans side, we have about 50% of our footprint and on the reverse comp side about 30% and really just timing. We do have one in particular deal that was longer-term that has to be reset. But it’s really to current market rates. So, we don’t – we never negotiate deals as percentage increases. We negotiate deals in terms of dollars and cents. And I think, all of our distribution partners know what the current fair market value rate that we are getting for retrans. So, I don’t think that should be any surprise. But again, that’s why we think it’s going to be another strong year for retrans and reverse compensation. And I’d add that even looking beyond that, we still have ways to go to get paid for the value we are bringing. I think we offer a significant value to our distribution partners, because we are the largest network out there. And so, we think it’s really a win-win relationship. As far as the management changes, I mean, you’ve seen them we couldn’t agree more. We think, Jo Ann is the best ad sales executive in the business. She is going to look at the entire portfolio and the massive reach that the ViacomCBS portfolio brings to our clients and we would expect to be paid fair market value for that and Jo Ann is going to deliver on that.

Great. Thanks, Jessica. Operator, we will take our next question please.

And next we will hear from Alexia Quadrani with JP Morgan. Please go ahead.

Thank you so much. My question is really also on the renewals coming up on the expiration of a 10-year deal with Comcast. I am assuming that’s further one for next year. And I believe that agreement includes Showtime. I guess, given the challenges of carrying another premium Cable Network right now with Comcast, I guess, how should we think about this negotiation in terms of what it means for Showtime? And then, just my follow-up is really, you mentioned Nielsen’s change in ratings next year. I am curious if you have any sense on how great a benefit that might be for advertising for you guys?

Yes. Sure, Alexia. I appreciate it. You are right. We do have an agreement coming up with Comcast next year and Showtime is part of that. Our approach, as we said previously, will be the same. I don’t believe all content is created equal where you can interchange shows for people, people, again, as we see seek out the content they want, again, I look at the track record of Showtime and the quality content they have on the air, as well as the CBS Television Network. So, again, I think the approach is the same and we’ve been successful with every other distributor getting paid fair market value. So we would fully expect the same. As far as Nielsen, so when the next broadcast season starts, we will finally have out-of-home. It is a significant lift in ratings. For example, the Super Bowl had an over 10% lift and that means, that’s over 11 million people watch that were not in the rating. So, having that Local - National News is also another one. Believe it or not, day time content is also a big lift. So, people are watching as we’ve said on their own time wherever they are and that is a convenience. And so, we are very excited and kind of overdo to have Nielsen have this in the measurements for the currency where Jo Ann and her team can finally monetize. So, stay tuned as we go into the upfront next May.

Thank you, Alexia.

Thank you very much.

Thanks Alexia. Operator, we will take our next question please.

Thank you. We will now hear from Michael Morris with Guggenheim. Please go ahead.

Thank you. Good morning. A couple topics. First, can you just talk about how demand is in the third-party market right now for your off-network content? It seems to be maturing of course, but domestically and we don’t have much visibility internationally. So if you could share that? And also talk about kind of the incremental demand that we are expecting or that you are expecting from the third-party services, the streaming services as companies like Disney or Warner pool there is back. Are you starting to have those discussions in terms of making product available? And then just, on All Access, could you share any updated details on kind of the mix of consumption or Joe, you talked about the NFL and SEC streams being up 60%. How is live sports comparing to your premium content comparing to catch-up viewing? Wondering if there has been any evolution there? Thanks.

Yes. Sure, Mike. Look, demand continues to be strong. Let’s break it down between domestic and international as you suggest. International was steady. I think, we have proven global hits that resonate around the world. Clearly, the streaming players, there are new ones coming in. I think the existing platforms are certainly going to want to see that consumption. I think, if you looked at the data for the U.S. streaming players, I think you will see a lot of consumption on kind of off-net shows. But as important, the entire cable marketplace relies on proven hit shows. I mean, again, part of their budgets or acquisitions, because that’s where most of the ratings points are coming from, so for their business model. So, we think there is actually going to be a resurgence from lots of Cable Nets for the beach front content that we produce. So, what we are doing is, we are trying to be strategic and really pause as we close our deal with Viacom to really think about how should we approach the marketplace. So, like I said, I think the opportunities only grow from here. But I would say, demand for international, steady and strong, U.S., changing and we are pulling back for a moment as we see it really settles and making sure we are not underselling any of our content. For All Access, I think, the mix is, I mean, I said it in my remarks is, kind of everybody comes for a different reason, but what we are seeing is the folks who come for originals stay longer. The live event – live television is also a differentiator for us. So the two drivers are really originals and live television. All Access, by the way is the only service that has live television in news and sports on air, because we reached the deals with our affiliates that we have locked in for multi-years. So, we are the only network that has been able to figure out a model that’s a win-win. And so, it’s really driving the consumption and then that’s where you are going to see, I think, the kids’ product and all of our catch-up viewing and library. So, we only keep some in the system and reducing what we call churn, because, we used to use that word churn, because people would switch. But now, it’s actually should be called, we said pause, because it’s what we call easy on, easy off. So it’s easy to come in and out of these subscription services. So what we are trying to do is, make sure we have these subscribers year around which just really improves the lifetime value of that subscriber. So our focus is really always on that lifetime value, the revenue that we can get from each subscriber. And we are seeing that. And that’s why we are making these investments in these originals and sports. So, they are very targeted on those investments.

Great. Thank you, Joe.

Thanks Mike. Operator, we have time for one last question.

Thank you. And we will take our final question from Laura Martin with Needham. Please go ahead.

Hey, there Joe. I just wanted to follow-up on a lot of streaming data. Could you talk about, if I am doing the numbers right, it sounds like, you might have 13 million subs that you are up 4% and we know that the TV ecosystem is shrinking. So, I’d love your comments on whether that number sounds right for the two combined streaming services? And then, one of the things that a lot of your competitors are doing now is bundling and time. Have you thought about making it less easy to actually turn off and turn on the system? And so, you don’t have this issue of pausing. You’ve locked people in maybe with a price discount or with some other asset that CBS offers? And then, finally, just on, as we think about integrating with Pluto, did I hear you right, it sounds like maybe you are going to launch some new free services that we haven’t heard about yet on the Pluto platform. Did I hear that right? Thanks.

Yes. Look, I think, stay tuned for more – thanks, Laura. Stay tuned for more announcements as we are getting CBS content on to Pluto. We said starting tomorrow, you will see some of that and you will see more of that in the coming weeks. So, we are focused on doing that and it’s win-win, because it’s greater distribution. It’s the top of funnel like we’d like to say. So, it’s really additive. It could be the – making it more difficult for people to unsubscribe. Certainly, I am sure lots of media companies thought about it. But I mean, in current marketplace it’s really again the consumer is in control and so, we are really earning a business based on the content investment that we make in it. And so, we think they are going to want to subscribe. We think the content is going to be compelling at a price point that’s really has a high value utility to them. The 4%, I should actually clarify that. I was adding in the traditional MVPD subs that we have in Showtime and All Acces, the traditional business, as well as direct-to-consumer and as well as virtual MVPDs. So, Laura, that number is just 4%, just so you are clear, not 13 million, it’s over 16 million.

Oh, wow.

So that’s overall subs. So, why we think that’s important, because there is a lot of headwinds in the traditional business and our point is, when you factor all of that in, we are growing subs. And so, because obviously, the direct-to-consumer will be growing it, but if you are losing it in a traditional business, it’s offsetting. So, that’s why we thought that statistic was meaningful that consumers are seeking out our content on other platforms which bodes well for our future. Thanks.

Right, right. Thanks.

Thank you, both. Thanks everybody for joining us and with that, this concludes today’s earnings call.

And once again, that does conclude the call for today. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.