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CBS Drama Series Bringing In ‘Eye-Popping Numbers’ in the Aftermarket

Mar 5, 2014  •  Post A Comment

CBS Chief Executive Leslie Moonves revealed that one of the network’s current dramas is bringing in a whopping dollar figure in aftermarket sales. Writing in Variety, Brian Steinberg reports that Moonves said “Elementary” is getting $2.7 million per episode in the aftermarket, driven by exclusive licensing deals.

CBS has made deals with Hulu Plus and Tribune’s WGN America, with both to air the program after the show’s third season.

“’Elementary’ is a great show and a very successful show, but it’s not a grand slam,” Moonves said at an investor conference. “Hulu Plus wanted to take it off the market in SVOD [subscription video on demand]. WGN wanted similar terms.”

Steinberg writes: “CBS Corp. is smaller than many of its rivals, such as NBCUniversal or 21st Century Fox, and so it relies more heavily on its ability to generate broad-viewership hits which then prove popular with syndicators and aftermarket vendors. The ability to keep a pipeline full of shows with potential for aftermarket pickup is one of the signs investors monitor when viewing CBS Corp.”

He adds: “This isn’t the first time the CBS chief has let slip eye-popping numbers for how much episodes of CBS shows generate from licensing deals. In December, he suggested Amazon was paying $700,000 per episode for the rights to stream last year’s first season of ‘Under the Dome.’”

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