Les Moonves, chief executive with CBS Corp. (CBS), said Thursday the media company's third-quarter performance is showing improvement over the second quarter - a sign he cited as showing that an economic turnaround is underway.

"Signs of recovery that began in the second quarter have been gathering steam in the third," said Moonves during a conference call, though he acknowledged that economic conditions remain difficult.

Moonves said sales pacings at the company's local television stations, which have been pummeled by the economic downturn and advertising slump, are showing steady improvement.

He also said third-quarter ad sales so far at the CBS Television Network are currently up 30% from the same time last year.

In recent late trading, CBS shares are up 9.5% to $9.35.

-By Nat Worden, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2472; nat.worden@dowjones.com