WHEN: Today, Wednesday, May 4th
WHERE: CNBC's "Squawk on the Street"
Following are excerpts from the unofficial transcript of a FIRST ON CNBC interview with CBS Corporation CEO Leslie Moonves on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" (M-F, 9AM-11AM ET) today, Wednesday, May 4th. Following is a link to video of the interview on CNBC.com: http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000514971.
All references must be sourced to CNBC.
MOONVES ON CBS
AS WE HEAD INTO THIS DAY, OR THIS PERIOD OF THE UPFRONT, WE SEE A LOT MORE MONEY COMING INTO BROADCAST. SO IT'S THE PERFECT TIME FOR US WITH OUR RATINGS, WITH THE MARKETPLACE BEING EXTREMELY STRONG, WE CAN'T WAIT TO GET INTO NEXT YEAR'S SELLING.
MOONVES ON CHANGES IN THE MEDIA INDUSTRY
THERE'S BEEN MORE CHANGE OVER THE LAST 18 MONTHS, TWO YEARS THAN I'VE EVER SEEN BEFORE IN THE MEDIA INDUSTRY. THE SIGNIFICANT THING IS THAT PEOPLE ARE GETTING THEIR CONTENT, AND YOU'VE HEARD THE CLICHE, THEY'RE GETTING IT WHERE THEY WANT IT, WHEN THEY WANT IT. THE REASON WE'RE SO BULLISH ABOUT CBS AND OUR FUTURE IS WE SELL OUR CONTENT THROUGH THE NORMAL DIRECTVs AND COMCAST AND TIME WARNER AS WELL AS WILL BE PART OF THE SKINNY BUNDLES. AND AFTER THAT WE HAVE OVER THE TOP SERVICES WHERE YOU CAN BUY CBS PRODUCT A LA CARTE THROUGH CBS ALL ACCESS OR SHOWTIME OTT.
MOONVES ON PRICING
LAST YEAR THE PRICING WASN'T WHAT WE WANTED, SO WE DECIDED TO PULL BACK AND WE ONLY SOLD ABOUT 74% OF OUR ADVERTISING. THIS YEAR BECAUSE PRICING IS GOING TO BE STRONGER WE ANTICIPATE THAT NUMBER TO BE IN THE HIGH 70s, MAYBE EVEN 80% IF WE GET THE NUMBERS THAT WE WANT. AND WE EXPECT THE ADVERTISERS WILL WANT TO BUY MORE HERE BEING THAT THEY HAD TO PAY MORE DURING THE YEAR IN SCATTER. SO WE'RE VERY EXCITED.
MOONVES ON THE BUNDLE
WE DON'T THINK ANY SUCCESSFUL OVER THE TOP OPERATION CAN EXIST, ANY SKINNY BUNDLE CAN EXIST, WITHOUT CBS. WE HAVE THE NUMBER ONE SCHEDULE, AS I SAID IN PRIMETIME. WE HAVE AN EXTRAORDINARY ARRAY OF SPORTS, THE NFL, THE NCAA TOURNAMENT, LATE-NIGHT, 60 MINUTES, NEWS, ET CETERA. SO ANY BUNDLE OUT THERE THAT EXPECTS TO BE SUCCESSFUL WITH THE PUBLIC HAS TO INCLUDE CBS, SO WE FEEL LIKE WE ARE GOING TO BE INCLUDED. AND WE'RE GOING TO BE PAID APPROPRIATELY FOR OUR CHANNELS.
MOONVES ON TRUMP AND THE ELECTION
HE HASN'T SPENT A LOT UP TO NOW. I THINK IN THE GENERAL ELECTION HE WILL SPEND A LOT MORE. HE WILL HAVE TO. IN ADDITION, WITH DONALD TRUMP LEADING THE TICKET THERE'S GOING TO BE A LOT MORE ATTENTION ON LOCAL RACES. SO WE THINK IN THE SENATORIAL AND CONGRESSIONAL RACES THERE WILL BE A LOT MORE BEING SPENT. AND WE ESTIMATE THAT THIS WILL BE THE LARGEST SPEND IN THE HISTORY OF A PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION NEWS CYCLE.
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