More NFL games and Super Bowl 50 drove revenue and net income up at the nation’s most-watched network, CBS, said Chairman and CEO Leslie Moonves in a conference call with investors on Tuesday.

Other factors that contributed to the growth in revenue were CBS’ continued airings of the Grammys and political advertising.

“There is a shift in dollars coming back to television,” Moonves said, echoing others’ concerns about the effectiveness of digital advertising, which faces ad blockers and bots.

First-quarter profits rose to $473 million, compared to $394 million a year earlier, while first-quarter revenue increased 10 percent to $3.85 billion from $3.50 billion in that same time period. Overall ad revenue jumped 31 percent, while revenue from affiliate fees and subscriptions acclerated by 15 percent. Ad revenues for the CBS network alone surged nearly 50 percent.

On the cable side, revenue dropped to $525 million from $539 million in the previous year.

Up next for CBS is its upfront presentation on Wednesday, May 18, at Carnegie Hall in New York City.

“The scatter market is as hot as its been in many many years,” Moonves said. As a result “we are salivating” for upfront sales to begin.

He also said he would “absolutely” consider offering CBS on Hulu’s planned skinny bundle service at the right price. CBS has been aggressive with cable operators and other distributors when it comes to its retransmission consent fees. Hulu — owned by 21st Century Fox, Comcast and The Walt Disney Co. — is said to be putting together an over-the-top programming service that would stream networks including ABC, Fox, ESPN, FX, Fox News and possibly the Comcast-owned NBC and cable networks.

RELATED: Hulu Developing Cable-Style Online TV Service

Finally, Moonves said to expect CBS to develop three or four originals per year for its new OTT offering, CBS All Access. The next Star Trek original is slated to debut on CBS and then move over to All Access.

READ MORE: Variety, Deadline, Broadcasting & Cable

[Image courtesy of Variety]

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