CBS would agree to be on the Apple TV if the terms were right

After agreeing to have its content hosted on both Netflix and Amazon, CBS Chief Executive Officer Les Moonves once again expressed his willingness during the CBS quarterly earnings call yesterday to have CBS content hosted on the Apple TV. Moonves said he would agree to have the content hosted if the terms of the deal were right, primarily if the payout was on key. Here is how the executive answered the analyst’s question on the matter:

Look, Anthony, you’ve — we’ve had this discussion many times before. You’re right, it depends what the terms are, it depends what we get paid for. It depends on what effect Apple TV would have on either our advertising, our syndication or our retrans, which are our 3 main buckets of revenue for our content. So if it sits in well, like Netflix did and Amazon did, we’re happy to discuss it. If it doesn’t and we’re — they’re using our content to build a business, we’re not quite as favorable to that. So the devil is in the details. I know it sounds like a pat answer, but it’s really true.

This is not the first time we heard about Monnves’ interest in the Apple TV. We reported several times that CBS turned down the partnership due to fears of losing revenue. However, perhaps after seeing Hulu’s agreement earlier this week, CBS may of change its mind.

Then comes the issue: are customers interested in live content anymore (besides live news, weather, etc.)? Everyone just watches content through other means like Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon, right? Still, it is interesting that the executive of a huge media company might be willing to dip into new, unfamiliar waters.

The discussion I really want to hear is about the TV set. [AllThingsD]

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