For CBS Chief, It's About Survivors

CBS Chief Executive Les Moonves has an answer for cable and satellite operators who complain their profits are getting squeezed by continually rising content costs: eliminate low-rated channels from their lineup.

"The truth is that he who has the most eyeballs wins," Moonves said. "If that means eliminating some of the smaller channels, then so be it." CBS has for years been the top-rated television network in the US. Moonves credits the popularity of shows, which include hits like "The Big Bang Theory" and "NCIS," with helping CBS avoid the kinds of high-level fee disputes that have resulted in channel blackouts for some networks peers. Other previous ratings successes included the reality-series "Survivor." "No matter if you have five channels or 500 channels, you have to have CBS," Moonves said. "At the end of the day, we haven't gone dark on any of our partners." Moonves also said CBS was prepared to distribute its content directly to viewers, via apps or Web portals, in the event that a la carte pricing and cord-cutting eventually threaten the company's business model.