Elizabeth Tumulty has been named executive vice president of Affiliate Relations for the CBS Television Network.

She will report to CBS president of affiliate relations Diana Wilkin and will work with Wilkin on negotiating new affiliation contracts and all affiliate related initiatives.

“I’m thrilled to have someone of Elizabeth’s professional caliber joining our team,” said Wilkin. “Her business acumen and vast knowledge of the inner workings of the affiliate-network relationship make her well-suited to keep CBS and its affiliates at the forefront of an always-evolving industry.” Read more

Both CBS and NBC are set to premiere comedies about local news personalities this fall.

CBS has picked up “The Millers,” starring Will Arnett as Nathan Miller, “a recently divorced local roving news reporter looking forward to living the singles’ life until his parents’ marital problems unexpectedly derail his plans.” The show also stars Margo Martindale and Beau Bridges as Nathan’s parents.

CBS will air “The Millers” Thursdays at 8:30 p.m. beginning this fall. NBC’s new comedy about a local news anchor, “The Michael J. Fox Show,” will air Thursdays at 9:30 p.m.

Watch a preview after the jump. Read more

When KSAZ, the FOX affiliate in Phoenix, signed up for a helicopter sharing agreement with cross-town ABC affiliate KNXV this week, it was just one recent example of TV stations still pursuing opportunities to pool resources.  While the practice of sharing helicopters and video crews among stations may have started as a cost cutting measure years ago, networks like FOX see it as just another tool to give viewers what they want and station owners what they need, according to a report by TVNewsCheck.

Fox and other proponents of the arrangements argue that in making newsgathering more efficient, they are freeing up reporters to concentrate on enterprise stories while curbing big costs, especially those associated with operating helicopters.

Both FOX and NBC are credited with starting the practice of sharing.  While NBC has begun paring back its use of pooled resources, FOX’s interest remains strong, agreeing to the practice in 12 of the 16 markets where its stations produce news.

Read more

Nexstar has renewed affiliation agreements with CBS for eight of its stations, the company announced today.

The long-term extensions are at KLBK in Lubbock, TX, KLST in San Angelo, TX, KTAB in Abilene, TX, WCIA in Decatur, IL, WFRV in Green Bay, WJMN in Marquette, WMBD in Peoria and WROC in Rochester. Mission Broadcasting has also renewed an affiliation agreement with CBS for KOLR in Springfield, MO, which Nexstar operates under a local marketing agreement.

“Our affiliation with CBS combined with our stations’ market-leading local news and unique community-focused programming allows us to deliver great entertainment and information to viewers as well as superior marketing solutions for advertisers,” Nexstar president and CEO Perry Sook said in a statement.

CBS and Cablevision announced the renewal of their content carriage agreements for the CBS O&Os. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

The agreement covers Cablevision subscribers in the New York tri-state area served by WCBS, Philadelphia’s KYW and Denver’s KCNC and also includes Cablevision’s continued carriage of Showtime, Smithsonian Channel and CBS Sports Network.

“This broad agreement will ensure that Cablevision customers will continue to have access to the CBS programming they already enjoy, across a range of networks, as well as new services Cablevision will launch in the coming months, including Showtime Anytime and CBS prime time shows on demand,” said Mac Budill, Cablevision’s executive vice president of programming.

Gray Television, the owner of more CBS-affiliates than any other group operator, announced today that is has signed affiliation agreements with CBS for three of its stations: WECP in Panama City, FL; WSVF in Harrisonburg, VA; and WIYE in Parkersburg, WV.

“We welcome this exciting opportunity to expand our long-standing successful partnership with CBS with these new affiliation agreements,” Bob Prather, Gray’s president and COO, said in a statement.  “We highly value the quality entertainment, news, and sports programming the network provides to our viewers and advertisers.”

Gray currently operates 36 stations, 17 of which broadcast CBS programming.

Aereo, the streaming TV service backed by Barry Diller, scored a victory in court this week as a federal judge ruled that the company could continue to operate while it fights broadcasters over the use of their programming.

A group of 17 network broadcasters had combined on a motion for a preliminary injunction against Aereo, which allows users to watch and record broadcast channels through their digital devices.  The service launched in the New York City area in March and currently costs $12 per month.

“This isn’t just a win for Aereo, it’s also a significant win for consumers who are demanding more choice and flexibility in the way they watch television,” Aereo CEO and founder Chet Kanojia said in a statement. Read more

As CBS stations saw a slight increase in revenue for 2012′s first quarter, the company drew huge profits during the period thanks in part to an increase in revenue from carriage agreements.

CBS today reported an 80% increase in profit for the first quarter, which analysts attribute to the $60 million in retrans fees the company received from cable systems, nearly double the amount it received during the same period last year.  Not only did CBS receive a ton of carriage money from cable systems,  it also received a significantly bigger cut of the retrans fees its affiliates earn from cable providers.

Meanwhile, revenue at the CBS station group rose 2% during the first quarter. Read more

Dallas personal injury attorney Thomas Corea is suing KTVT-KTXA, as well as CBS, the stations’ owner, because he was unable to generate a satisfactory amount of business leads from his daytime call-in show.

Courthouse News reports that Corea was paying $2,750 to run each 30-minute episode of “Ask the Lawyer with Tom Corea,” which aired Tuesdays and Thursdays at noon on KTXA.  The lawsuit alleges that after a run of initial success last summer, during which the show reportedly had higher ratings than the midday news, KTVT-KTXA failed to adequately promote the program and also failed to transfer a majority of phone calls to the show over to Corea’s call center. Read more

CBS Corporation reported fourth quarter and full-year financial results for 2011 this week, announcing $721 million in revenue for its local broadcasting unit during the final three months of the year–$100 million less than the division brought in during the same period in 2010.

CBS Television Stations fourth quarter revenues decreased 18%, a dip the company attributes to lower political sales as well as lost revenues suffered from the NBA lockout.

For the full-year, CBS’s stations saw a 7% decrease in revenue.  While CBS’s entire local broadcasting unit registered a 3% drop in revenue for 2011, the company’s TV stations couldn’t quite compete with the figures from 2010, a year that included the Super Bowl on CBS as well as significant political advertising sales.