CBS Corp said Thursday that it has raised its stake in online venture, SportsLine USA Inc to 18% from 12.5% as an extension of the equity-for-promotion arrangement between the two companies. In 1997, the two signed a five-year agreement that has now been extended through 2006. The extended agreement provides for the CBS TV network to carry out promotional activity worth more than $100m for CBS SportsLine during sports broadcasts. A revenue sharing plan in connection with the co-branded web site has also been revised to provide further incentive for CBS to help grow the site’s revenue streams, although no financial details were disclosed. The extended agreement comes as CBS is admittedly mulling over plans to spin its internet properties off into a separate, publicly traded company.
