CBS Corporation (CBS) beat analysts expectations in its fourth quarter, spurred by new programming agreements from powerhouse shows such as NCIS.

CBS stock is up 3.6% on the news.

Sales increased 5.8% to $3.91 billion in the quarter, which topped the $3.82 billion analyst estimate average.

CBS reported that its net income increased to $470 million (76 cents a share), up from $393 million (60 cents/share) a year earlier. Bloomberg reported that profit excluding some items was 78 cents a share, beating the 76-cent average of 27 analysts’ estimates.

CBS, home of police drama “NCIS,” the most watched show on television, is using its ratings dominance to wring money from distributors in so-called retransmission content fees, which allow pay-TV services to provide the network’s signal to subscribers.

The network is also licensing more shows to streaming services operated by Amazon.com Inc. and Hulu LLC.

The good fortuned is allowing the company to accelerate its stock buybacks by $1.5 billion.

In a statement, CBS said that it will buy back $2 billion shares in the current quarter. The “total amount spent in the first quarter is almost the same as the company spent on repurchases in 2013,” CBS said in a separate statement.

CBS stock is up 50% from this time last year, though has dropped by about 3% so far this year.