CBS Puts Sexual Misconduct Allegations Off Limits on Quarterly Earnings Call

Few companies are more “uniquely positioned” than CBS “to profit from the explosion of premium content” on over-the-top and direct-to-consumer services, said CEO Leslie Moonves on a Thursday afternoon earnings call. The call was his first since the CBS board voted the previous day to hire outside counsel to investigate allegations of sexual misconduct against Moonves (see the personals section of this publication). Adam Townsend, executive vice president-corporate finance, at the top of the call put off limits any discussion or Q&A about the allegations or investigation. “In light of any litigation and other matters, and on the advice of counsel,” said Townsend, “the scope of today’s call and any questions will be limited to the quarterly results of the company.” OTT services “are becoming mainstream,” and CBS has its “own, well-established platforms growing right along with consumer demand,” said Moonves. The network’s previous goal was by 2020 to have 8 million subscribers combined for its two “cornerstone” services, CBS All Access and Showtime OTT, he said. CBS is now on pace to reach that milestone in 2019, so the network is upping its forecast to 16 million subscribers by 2022, he said. “In other words, we plan to double our original goal in just two additional years, and that doesn’t even include the subs we’re just beginning to get internationally.”