CBS Could Be A Hit Investment

We’ve covered the turmoil in media stocks quite extensively this summer. In short, investors are worried that this traditionally very attractive business model is being uprooted by the Internet in a similar way to how newspapers and magazines were uprooted over the past decade.

The “big media”, video entertainment companies are all over the Magic Formula (MFI) screens the past few months. Just looking today, I see CBS (CBS), Discovery (DISCK), Scripps (SNI), Time Warner (TWX), Twenty-First Century Fox (FOXA), and Viacom (VIAB) all in the “top 50 over 3 billion” screen. Fiddle with the screening parameters a bit and you can easily get AMC Networks (AMCX) to show as well.

All of these firms look attractive at current valuations, but for this article let’s put a focus on the first in the list: CBS.

America’s Most Watched Network

CBS has 4 reporting segments, but about 80% of revenue and 70% of profits are generated by the company’s Entertainment and Local Broadcasting units, both of which are focused on over-the-air network television. This makes CBS notably different from many of the other MFI media firms that rely primarily on cable networks and movie studios. The bulk of those operations were spun off into Viacom nearly a decade ago.

The Entertainment division consists of the CBS network, TV show production and syndication, as well as a film and interactive (gaming) division. CBS broadcast networks reach virtually every household in the U.S., giving it a wide advertising reach that is attractive to sponsors. 40% of its TV content is self-produced (and 70% is at least co-produced), consisting of such hit series as CSI and NCIS (and their myriad spin-offs), The Good Wife, Blue Bloods, The Amazing Race, and many others.

The CBS networks also have a very strong sports presence, which is important as live sports are virtually immune to time-shifting and video-on-demand competition, and are a prime outlet to reach males aged 18-42. CBS owns the rights to the NFL’s AFC conference and several playoff games (including this year’s Super Bowl), splits the NCAA’s March Madness basketball tournament with Turner, carries rights to the most lucrative of college football conferences, the SEC, and has major golf and tennis rights as well.