CBS Says It Extended CEO Moonves’ Contract Through 2017

CBS Corp. (CBS), owner of the most-watched U.S. TV network, extended the contract of Chief Executive Officer Leslie Moonves through June 2017.

The five-year accord, replacing one expiring in 2015, gives Moonves the option to create a production company under CBS and makes him eligible to serve as an executive adviser for an added four years, New York-based CBS said yesterday in a statement.

Moonves, 63, has led CBS to ratings victories in total viewers for nine of the past 10 years. His salary will remain at the current level, reported as $3.5 million for 2011 in CBS’s proxy statement, and he remains eligible for a bonus and equity- based pay. His total compensation amounted to $69.9 million last year, based on regulatory reporting requirements.

CBS, controlled by billionaire Sumner Redstone, rose 0.8 percent to $34.03 yesterday in New York. The stock has gained 25 percent this year to rank eighth in the S&P 500 Media Index. Time Warner Cable Inc. (TWC) is first at 55 percent.

To contact the reporter on this story: Rob Golum in Los Angeles at rgolum@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Anthony Palazzo at apalazzo@bloomberg.net