CBS, the most-watched TV network, has a lot to comment on this week: The Disney/Dish deal is sure to affect future agreements between Dish and CBS; CBS announced this week that it will sell new ads to run in on-demand episodes; and CBS is touting the success it’s had selling its Sherlock Holmes series, “Elementary,” to off-net and streaming partners.

CBS CEO Leslie Moonves on Wednesday spoke at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media and Telecom Conference, considering what future retransmission-consent deals will look like between Dish and CBS now that Dish’s deal with Disney has been announced. The new agreement forces Dish to disable its AutoHop feature for at least three days for ABC shows, in return for giving Dish streaming rights to Disney content (including ABC, ESPN, ABC Family and local stations).

Moonves said that the three-day rule is a “a great start. It’s a great start to say [that] after three days [subscribers] can use it. It’s not quite enough for us because we’re going to want some different things.”

CBS’ deal with Dish expires at the end of the year. As to that, Moonves said: “It’s going to be an interesting conversation with Charlie [Ergen, Dish’s chairman] as they always are.”

He added that CBS is in the process of working with distribution partners to set up virtual MVPDs via over-the-top Internet offerings,

“The current ecosystem works very well, but a new way to get paid for your linear content is a good thing if it’s done properly with ... appropriate partners,” Moonves said.

CBS also has begun inserting new ads into older episodes of popular shows in order to gain revenue from delayed viewers. The network will begin selling ads for shows like “NCIS” and “The Crazy Ones” that will appear in on-demand offerings three days after the show’s initial air date. The move is intended to appeal to younger audiences who record and watch later, and will work for advertisers who may want to update their advertising message for later dates. CBS hopes to introduce the option to more ad buyers at this year’s upfronts, after hopefully being able to put new value on its existing series through VOD.

Moonves also boasted about the revenue that CBS recently garnered for sales of its neo-Sherlock Holmes drama, Elementary. Via exclusive sales to cable network WGN America and subscription video on demand provider, Hulu Plus, CBS will repeat more than $2.7 million an episode in back-end revenue for the show. Hulu Plus signed a deal with CBS to stream the show after its third season on air. WGN America, trying to rebuild its network around more drama series, made a similar agreement, putting “Elementary” into syndication on the net after its third season on CBS.

Read more at Broadcasting & Cable, Ad Age and Variety.

Brief Take: CBS continues to lead the industry in reaping value for its content, whether that’s by holding out for tough retransmission-consent deals or selling its content to third parties at top-dollar prices.

[Image courtesy of CBS]

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