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  • Time Warner Q3 net income flat

    Submitted by ITV Production on Nov 09
    indiantelevision.com Team

    MUMBAI: US media conglomerate Time Warner?s net income in the third quarter was nearly flat at $838 compared with $822 million a year earlier on a fall in revenues.

    Its revenues decreased by three per cent to $6.8 billion in the third quarter from a year earlier on declines at the Film and TV Entertainment and Publishing segments.

    Time Warner?s adjusted operating income declined by one per cent to $1.6 billion in the third quarter.

    Time Warner chairman and CEO Jeff Bewkes said, "The highlight this quarter was the strength of our Networks businesses, which delivered double digit adjusted operating income growth. This performance illustrates that our investments in content and technology are continuing to pay off.

    Bewkes said the company is experiencing good momentum across most of Turner?s networks. TBS, for instance, was up 35 per cent in primetime for adults 18-49 this quarter and is now the number one network on cable this year for adults 18-34.

    "At HBO, the unmatched volume of its quality original programming was underscored by the 23 Primetime Emmy awards HBO received this year - more than any other network for the eleventh consecutive year. With compelling content, technological innovations like HBO GO and support from our affiliates, the subscriber trends at HBO today are the best they?ve been in years.

    "Our studio faced difficult comparisons in the third quarter, but Warner Bros. Television is having a terrific broadcast season with a successful mix of new and returning shows.

    For Warner Bros.? theatrical business, the story this quarter was ?The Dark Knight Rises?, which has brought in over $1 billion at the global box office, surpassing ?The Dark Knight?. And the studio is off to a great start to the fourth quarter with the critical and audience acclaim for Argo, which we?ll follow with the highly-anticipated release next month of the first installment of ?The Hobbit?.

    "Overall, I?m very confident about how we?re positioned heading into next year and beyond. Reflecting that confidence and our continued commitment to improving shareholder returns, through November 2 we?ve purchased approximately $2.3 billion of our stock this year."

    In the third quarter, the Company posted Adjusted Diluted Net Income per Common Share ("Adjusted EPS") of $0.86 versus $0.79 for the year-ago quarter. Diluted Income per Common Share was $0.86 for the three months ended September 30, 2012 compared to $0.78 in the prior year quarter.

    For the first nine months of 2012, cash provided by operations from continuing operations reached $2.3 billion, and free cash flow totalled $2 billion. As of September 30, 2012, Net Debt was $16.7 billion, up from $16.0 billion at the end of 2011, due to share repurchases and dividends, partially offset by the generation of Free Cash Flow.

    At the networks division (Turner Broadcasting and HBO) revenues rose by four per cent 4% ($131 million) to $3.3 billion, benefitting from growth of seben per cent ($137 million) in Subscription revenues, which was partially offset by a decline of one per cent ($9 million) in ad revenues. The increase in Subscription revenues resulted mainly from higher domestic rates and, to a lesser extent, an increase in domestic subscribers at HBO and international growth. Advertising revenues benefitted from growth at Turner?s domestic entertainment networks, due principally to higher pricing, offset in part by the timing of certain sports events.

    Domestic growth was more than offset by decreases at Turner?s international networks, which were due primarily to the negative effect of foreign currency exchange rates and the shutdown of Turner?s general entertainment network, Imagine, in India and TNT television operations in Turkey, which occurred in the first half of 2012.

    Adjusted operating income increased by 12 per cent ($130 million) to $1.2 billion due to higher revenues. Programming expenses were essentially flat compared to the prior year?s quarter as the benefits from the shutdown of Imagine and TNT television operations in Turkey and the timing of sports events were offset by higher costs at HBO due to the timing of original programming. Operating income also increased 12% ($132 million) to $1.2 billion.

    In October, Turner entered into an agreement to extend its relationship with Major League Baseball through 2021, providing Turner with television rights and expanded digital rights to both postseason and regular season games. In September, HBO received 23 Primetime Emmy Awards, the most of any network for the eleventh consecutive year, with ?Game of Thrones? receiving six awards, Game Change receiving five awards and ?Boardwalk Empire? receiving four awards. During the quarter, HBO announced that, together with Parsifal International, it plans to launch HBO Nordic, a multi-platform premium television service, in Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark.

    In the film and TV entertainment division revenues decreased by 12 per cent ($400 million) to $2.9 billion, due mainly to difficult comparisons to the year ago period. The prior year?s quarter included revenues from the theatrical release of ?Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2? and television license fees from the off-network availabilities of ?The Big Bang Theory? and ?Friends?. This decline was offset in part by the global theatrical performance of ?The Dark Knight Rises? and an increase in subscription video-on-demand revenue.

    Adjusted Operating Income declined by 38 per cent ($198 million) to $330 million, due mainly to lower revenues, offset partially by lower print and advertising costs due to fewer theatrical releases in the quarter. Operating income decreased by 37 per cent ($196 million) to $328 million.

    For the first ten months of 2012, Warner Bros. achieved the number two spot in domestic box office share with $1.4 billion, led by the releases of ?The Dark Knight Rises?, ?Magic Mike? and ?Journey 2: The Mysterious Island?. ?The Dark Knight Rises? has surpassed $1 billion at the global box office during its theatrical run, exceeding its predecessor The Dark Knight. Warner Bros. is the leading supplier of programming to the broadcast networks, with 25 primetime series announced for the 2012-2013 season. Including cable, animated and first-run syndicated series, Warner Bros. is producing nearly 60 programmes.

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  • US ad spend up by a marginal 0.9% in Q2: Kantar Media

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  • Time Warner records highest revenue growth since 2003

    Submitted by ITV Production on Feb 13
    indiantelevision.com Team

    MUMBAI: US media conglomerate Time Warner?s revenue for the full-fiscal ended December has increased eight per cent to $29 billion, its highest growth rate since 2003.

    Adjusted operating income rose by nine per cent to a record $5.9 billion. Adjusted EPS grew 20 per cent to $2.89.

    Time Warner chairman, CEO Jeff Bewkes said, ?While investing aggressively to drive our long-term growth, we also returned $5.6 billion to our shareholders through dividends and share repurchases. For 2012, we will execute against the same strategic priorities that have driven our success in recent years: We?re investing aggressively in programming, production and marketing. We?re further accelerating our Content Everywhere initiatives. We?re expanding our presence internationally in attractive territories. And we?re maintaining our strict focus on operating and capital efficiency."

    Time Warner announced an increase in dividend and a new $4 billion stock repurchase authorisation.

    Revenue increase for the year reflected growth at the Networks and film segments. Adjusted operating Income rose by nine per cent to $5.9 billion, due to strong results at all of the company?s segments. Operating income increased by seven per cent to $5.8 billion. Adjusted operating income and operating income margins were each 20 per cent in 2011, the same as in 2010.

    Fourth-quarter revenues increased by five per cent from the year-ago quarter to $8.2 billion, reflecting higher revenues at the film and networks segments. Adjusted operating income rose by 20 per cent to $1.7 billion, driven by strong results across the company?s segments. Adjusted operating Income margins were 21 per cent versus 18 per cent in the 2010 quarter. Operating income increased by 17 per cent to $1.7 billion in the quarter, while operating income margins were 20 per cent compared to 18 per cent in the 2010 quarter.

    In the Networks segment (Turner Broadcasting and HBO) revenues for the year grew by nine per cent ($1.2 billion) to $13.7 billion, with increases of six per cent ($495 million) in subscription revenues, 12 per cent ($453 million) in ad revenues and 21 per cent ($202 million) in content revenues.

    The increase in subscription revenues resulted mainly from higher domestic rates and international subscriber growth.

    The growth in ad revenues was driven by strong pricing domestically, sports programming, including the NCAA Division I Men?s Basketball Championship events, and growth at Turner?s international networks, including acquisitions.
    Content revenues benefited from higher sales of HBO original programming and higher licensing revenues at Turner.

    Adjusted operating income increased by six per cent ($266 million) to $4.4 billion, reflecting higher revenues partly offset by increased expenses, including higher programming and marketing costs, as well as increased costs related to international growth. Programming costs grew by 12 per cent, due primarily to higher expenses for sports and original programming and international growth.

    In the film segment for the year, revenues rose by nine per cent ($1 billion) to $12.6 billion, led by the strong theatrical and home entertainment performance of ?Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2? and the home entertainment performance of ?Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1?.

    Revenues also benefited from a stronger videogames release slate, higher television license fees, new subscription video-on-demand agreements and the favourable effect of foreign exchange rates.

    Key 2011 videogame releases included Batman: Arkham City, Mortal Kombat 9 and several Lego titles. Television license fees increased due mainly to improved worldwide syndication, which included the off-network availability of ?The Big Bang Theory?. This growth was offset in part by fewer home video releases and difficult theatrical comparisons to the prior year.

    Adjusted operating income increased by 16 per cent ($174 million) to $1.3 billion, as a result of higher revenues.

    Operating income increased by 14 per cent ($156 million) to $1.3 billion. In 2011, Warner Bros. grossed $4.7 billion at the worldwide box office, led by the top grossing film, ?Harry

    Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2?. Warner Bros. also became the first studio to exceed $4 billion in global box office for three consecutive years.

    For the 2011-2012 broadcast television season, Warner Bros. has produced more than 30 scripted primetime series, making it the leading supplier of primetime programming to the broadcast networks.

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    Jeff Bewkes
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