By Joe Flint

CBS Corp. is scheduled to release third quarter earnings after the market closes Tuesday. Here's what you should know:

EARNINGS FORECAST: CBS is expected to report adjusted per-share earnings of 81 cents, according to analysts polled by Thomson Reuters. In the year-earlier period CBS posted per-share earnings of 74 cents.

REVENUE FORECAST: CBS is projected to report revenue of $3.27 billion. For the same quarter a year earlier, CBS posted revenue of $3.37 billion.

WHAT TO WATCH:

WHAT, ME WORRY?: Expect CBS Chief Executive Leslie Moonves to take a few swipes at Wall Street for punishing media stocks this summer after Walt Disney Co. said ESPN was facing pay TV subscriber losses, a development that fueled fears of an acceleration in cord-cutting. With fewer channels to distribute and the most-watched broadcast network, CBS thinks it will be part of any so-called "skinny channel bundles" that distributors are expected to offer. As for cord-cutters, the network is betting on its over-the-top delivery service "CBS All Access" as a viable alternative. However, All Access still doesn't have rights to distribute CBS's NFL coverage or its biggest hit comedy "The Big Bang Theory," which comes from Warner Bros.

FALL FOLLIES: CBS will give a report card on the fall TV season. On the one hand, it has already given full season orders to the comedy "Life in Pieces" and the drama "Limitless." In addition, its new drama "Supergirl" got off to a strong start in its debut late last month. On the other hand, CBS is down 5% in viewers and 7% in adults 18-49 through five weeks of the new season, according to Nielsen. Furthermore, even when delayed viewing is factored in, the broadcast networks are off from last season. In late night, Stephen Colbert has gotten off to a solid start and is bringing in more young viewers than David Letterman.

EXECUTIVE SHUFFLE: Nina Tassler, responsible for many of CBS's biggest programming successes over the past decade, stepped down as head of CBS Entertainment earlier this fall. She leaves large shoes to fill inside the network. CBS replaced her with Glenn Geller, another veteran of the network who most recently oversaw current programming. Well-regarded inside CBS, Mr. Geller is something of an unknown on Wall Street and in much of Hollywood and Mr. Moonves may seek to reassure analysts and investors that prime time is in good hands.

TOO MUCH TV: The emergence of Netflix, Amazon and Hulu has led to new places for companies such as CBS to sell reruns of their shows at lucrative prices. However, all three are investing heavily in original content, which has some analysts concerned it could lead them to become more selective in their purchasing of broadcast content.

Write to Joe Flint at joe.flint@wsj.com

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 02, 2015 11:30 ET (16:30 GMT)

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