Following the steady trend of cutting the costs of production, CBS Corp. (CBS) is going to start a small film division for the primary purpose of getting rid of the high costs of its offerings on Showtime.
At this time, Showtime spends between $15 million to $20 million for each first-run pay-cable movies.
Les Moonves, CEO of CBS Corp., commented: "We are looking at doing movies for around $10 million or $15 million, perhaps partnering with studios and investors, we can own them and not have one iota of risk. It might be a nice library to have."
Every time I see the studios do this, it shows that they are beginning to come to their senses about the need to operate a profitable business model.
In response to a question about the cyclical nature of the TV network business, Moonves said, "We have hits on every single night of the week. Six new shows [from a year ago] are returning this year. We have only four new shows to promote this year. We own 75 percent of 
our prime-time lineup. We will not fall off a cliff if one show fails."
They do seem to be positioned strongly for this year in their TV lineup.
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