2011 total shareholder return: 44.4%

After the 2007 recession hit media companies hard, CBS Corporation looked beyond traditional advertising for revenues by selling older shows for online distribution on Netflix and Amazon. 

The strategy paid off. Shares of the television network known for shows such as CSI and Two and a Half Men rose 42% to $27.14.

Shareholders were even more pleased in May when the company doubled its dividend payment after reporting better than expected first quarter profits. CEO Leslie Moonves was handsomely rewarded with a pay package that rose 20% to $68.4 million from a year earlier.