CBS Chief Moonves Bolstered By Profits And Redstone Praise

Leslie Moonves appeared to solidify his position as chief executive of CBS on Tuesday, after Sumner Redstone, chairman, saluted him following a 14 per cent jump in quarterly earnings.

Speculation about Mr Moonves began to emerge in the wake of a sharp fall in CBS earnings last quarter as its television network ceded its long-time ratings lead and a high-profile effort to remake its evening newscast was deemed a failure.

"Let me make one thing clear: there is no one - no one - that I would rather have at the CBS helm than Les," Mr Redstone said.

He also blessed moves by CBS and its sister company, Viacom - which he also controls - to compete head-to-head in the pay television business.

The recent announcement by Viacom that its Paramount film studio would start its own pay-television network and stop supplying CBS's Showtime represented open warfare between the companies a little more than two years after they were formally split. That has reinforced some investors' doubts about the wisdom of that transaction.

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