• by June 8, 2007

Don't expect any more big Internet acquisitions from CBS Corp. in the foreseeable future. That was the word from Fred Reynolds, CBS' executive vice president and chief financial officer, who opened the Merrill Lynch US Media Conference in London yesterday morning.

Reynolds noted that Last.fm's $280 million price tag was attractive because "they have 15 million unique users, and [the number is] growing quickly, and we feel we can monetize that through ad revenue."

When asked about additional deals for companies of Last.fm's size or larger that had similar potential, Reynolds replied: "There are probably not many more of those [companies], if any, on the horizon." Not that CBS hasn't been on the hunt, as he added that CBS has "looked at over 150 Internet/Digital companies in the last 18 months" since the company's formation out of the old Viacom.

During his talk, Reynolds repeatedly referred to the digital migration underway at CBS' various content divisions, even including the digitization of CBS' outdoor sign business. More to the Internet point, he pointed out that 130 of CBS' 140 radio stations, located in 29 markets, are now streaming online "at no extra cost," and last year brought in $15 million in incremental ad revenues. "The Internet helps radio," he said. "It's like another daypart. We had two dayparts--morning and evening drive--and now we can stream it into where people work."

In publishing, he said, thousands of Simon & Schuster's 17,000 titles will be digitized this year, making them ready for ebooks, print on demand, and other distribution vehicles.

Turning to Internet TV startup Joost, into which CBS recently made an investment for a still-undisclosed amount, Reynolds said the "lion's share of any ad sale goes to us." This share has previously been reported at 90%) and Reynolds said Joost will bring CBS "equal to, or greater margins versus TV."

On the Internet as a whole, Reynolds said that user-generated content now probably represents the "lion's share of where inventory is sold around," but that in the future, "it will not be as valuable as seeing professional content" and such content "will command higher rates....The first thing is to get the reach...We want to be everywhere, ubiquitous."

"Technology is not a threat, it's an advantage," Reynolds declared. Noting, for example, that even the most avid "CSI" viewers only watch two out of four episodes, he cited "lost viewing opportunities we can now capture and get paid for."