MUMBAI: Under a new chief Jeff Zucker US news broadcaster CNN is trying to make itself more competitive. But it still has a few years to go before it can beat Fox News.

Speaking to a few reporters gathered around him at the Landmarc restaurant in Time Warner Center Zucker answering the question of when the broadcaster would beat Fox News and be the number one news channel he said, "Come back to me in three years. We have miles and miles to go. Fox is not only incredibly strong, they are incredibly dominant. It?s going to take a long time."

In terms of the plan for CNN he said, "What I want CNN to be is to be aggressive in news, coupled with programming like Anthony Bourdain."

"We need a number of programmes that you would not normally find on cable news networks but on places like Discovery, A&E, Nat Geo, we want to compete in that arena as well as the traditional cable news arena that CNN has traditionally been grouped into," he concluded.

MUMBAI: US media conglomerate Time Warner has reported financial results for its first quarter ended 31 March, 2013. The company posted flat revenues of $6.9 billion compared to the year-ago quarter, as growth at the Networks segment was offset by declines at the Film and TV Entertainment and Publishing segments.

Adjusted operating income grew by seven per cent to $1.4 billion due to increases at the Networks and Film and TV Entertainment segments, offset in part by declines at the Publishing segment. Adjusted EPS rose by 22 per cent to $0.82

Time Warner chairman, CEO Jeff Bewkes said: "We?re off to a strong start in 2013, making us even more confident in our full-year outlook. Our Adjusted Operating Income in the first quarter increased by seven per cent to $1.4 billion, up by 10 per cent excluding Publishing, and Adjusted EPS climbed by 22 per cent. These results reflect the ongoing strength of our content, particularly in television.

"At Turner, the NCAA Division I Men?s Basketball tournament was the most watched March Madness in almost two decades. And we?re seeing good momentum across most of Turner?s networks, including TBS, which was the #1 ad-supported cable network in primetime across adults 18-34 and 18-49 during the quarter. At Warner Bros., we have had another very strong TV season, including having four of the top six comedies on TV and both of the breakout new dramas of this season, ?Revolution? and ?The Following?.

"And HBO continues to go from strength to strength, powered by hits like ?Game of Thrones?, which is on track this season to become the most-watched series on HBO since ?The Sopranos?.

"This quarter we also announced our plans to spin off Time Inc. into an independent publicly-traded company, which we expect to complete by the end of the year. As we said when we announced the spin-off in March, we believe this is the best structure for both Time Inc. and Time Warner, and expect this step will create additional value for our stockholders. Underscoring our commitment to stockholder returns, so far this year we?ve repurchased almost $870 million of our stock and paid out over $270 million in dividends."

Networks (Turner Broadcasting and HBO) : Revenues increased by three per cent ($93 million) to $3.7 billion, benefiting from growth of five per cent ($115 million) in Subscription revenues, partly offset by declines of one per cent ($12 million) in ad revenues and four per cent ($11 million) in content revenues. The increase in subscription revenues resulted primarily from higher domestic rates and international growth.

Ad revenues benefited from growth at Turner?s domestic entertainment networks due principally to higher pricing, offset in part by the timing of the 2013 NCAA Division I Men?s Basketball National Championship tournament. Adv revenue growth at Turner?s domestic entertainment networks was more than offset by declines at its news networks, due to lower demand, and the shutdown of Turner?s general entertainment network, Imagine, in India and TNT television operations in Turkey in the first half of 2012.

Adjusted Operating Income grew by seven per cent ($87 million) to $1.3 billion due primarily to higher revenues. Programming costs were essentially flat compared to the prior year quarter as higher costs for originals were offset by the timing of the NCAA Tournament, lower programming write-downs and cost reductions due to the shutdown of Imagine and the TNT television operations in Turkey.

Operating income increased by 11 per cent ($125 million) to $1.3 billion. The current year quarter included $20 million of charges related to Turner?s international operations. The prior year quarter included a $58 million charge related to Turner?s decision to shut down Imagine.

Film, TV entertainment (Warner Bros.) : Revenues decreased by four per cent ($103 million) to $2.7 billion, reflecting mainly lower theatrical performance and a decline in television licensing revenues resulting primarily from fewer significant international syndication availabilities. The declines were offset in part by higher home video revenues from the strong performance of ?The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey? and ?Argo? and revenues from the Warner Bros. Studio Tour London - The Making of Harry Potter, which opened in March 2012. Adjusted Operating Income rose by 23 per cent ($50 million) to $265 million, as contributions from ?The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey? and lower print and ad costs more than offset the decline in revenues.

Operating Income grew by 23 per cent ($49 million) to $263 million. ?The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey? surpassed $1 billion at the global box office, making it the fourth biggest film in Warner Bros.? history. ?The Ellen DeGeneres Show?, which is in its 10th season, has been renewed by stations covering 97 per cent of the US through the 2015-2016 season.

Season-to-date, Warner Bros. Television?s ?Revolution? and ?The Following? rank as the top two new series on primetime broadcast television among adults 18-49.

MUMBAI: Time Warner Cable (TWC), the second- largest US cable provider has brought on board former AOL chief operating officer Arthur Minson as chief financial officer, replacing Irene Esteves, who is departing. This is his second stint at TWC.

Minson who will take charge on 2 May. In a statement, TWC chairman and CEO Glenn Britt said Esteves had played "a significant role in the management of the company" since she joined in 2011.

Minson, who will also assume the title executive VP and will report in to Britt.

"We?re delighted to welcome Artie back to Time Warner Cable," Britt said. "His deep knowledge of the cable industry, the broad experience he gained at AOL as CFO and COO, and his outstanding reputation in the financial community make him a great addition to our management team." He further added.

MUMBAI: While News Corp and other broadcasters are threatened by the Barry Diller backed Aereo Time Warner chairman, CEO Jeff Bewkes is not fazed by it.

Speaking at a panel at the Financial Times Digital Media Conference he said that Aereo does not offer a value proposition. "Nobody?s going to buy it. I don?t think they have much of a proposition" he said dismissively.

The main change for him in the television landscape is that consumption of TV is moving to on-demand. But the basic subscription business model will stay. Video-on-demand is the revolution and it?s happening now. Mobile phones are no different than TVs. TV will take over the internet, not the other way round".
 
Bewkes said that Time Warner was seeing best growth in VoD, especially overseas. He spoke about Netflix saying, "It actually went the way we thought. It?s essentially giving you a great library service with a great interface. Netflix is a pretty good company. It is not at all surprising that they have the subscriber count they have." In terms of Netflix being a competitor to HBO he noted that HBO has 110 million subscribers while suggesting that Netflix would keep acquiring subscribers, perhaps up to 40 million.

According to Bewkes the amount and quality of TV production is increasing. "We all have to realise there is no distinction between TV and digital media. All TV is basically digital".

MUMBAI: Time Warner has said that it plans to spin off its Time Inc. into an independent, publicly traded company by the end of the calendar year.

Time Inc. is the publisher of magazines like Time, Sports Illustrated, Fortune and People.

The proposed transaction will be structured as tax-free to Time Warner stockholders. The transaction is contingent on the satisfaction of a number of conditions, including completion of the review process by the Securities and Exchange Commission of required filings under applicable securities regulations and the final approval of transaction terms by Time Warner?s Board of Directors.

Time Warner Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bewkes said: ?After a thorough review of options, we believe that a separation will better position both Time Warner and Time Inc. A complete spin-off of Time Inc. provides strategic clarity for Time Warner Inc., enabling us to focus entirely on our television networks and film and TV production businesses, and improves our growth profile. Time Inc. will also benefit from the flexibility and focus of being a stand-alone public company and will now be able to attract a more natural stockholder base. As we saw with the prior spin-offs of Time Warner Cable and AOL, we expect the separation will create additional value for our stockholders.?
 
Time Inc. CEO Laura Lang has advised Time Warner that she will stay on through this process and until after a successor has been identified.

?Laura indicated to me that we should find a different kind of CEO for this new public company, and I respect her decision,? Bewkes said. ?She has been a great partner who has given Time Inc. forward momentum to make this transition possible, and I look forward to working with her to select the right leader to head the company as an independent entity.?