Revenue at Warner Bros. jumps 7% to $2.8 billion
The cancellation of HBO’s”Luck” and the closing of a TV channel in India put a damper on an otherwise solid first quarter for media giantTime Warner Inc.
Time Warner reported a profit of $583 million for the quarter ending March 31, compared with $653 million for the same period in 2011, an 11% drop. Revenue was up 4% to $7 billion.
“We’re off to a great start to the year, and we’re benefiting from strong momentum for our content across our businesses,” said Time Warner Chief Executive Jeff Bewkes.
Much of the revenue gain can be attributed to stronger subscription fees and ad revenue at the Turner networks, including TNT and TBS. The company said revenue at its cable networks was $3.6 billion, a 3% jump. Ad revenue was up 6% thanks to commercial dollars from the NCAA basketball tournament which was carried on TNT, TBS and TruTV.
-- Joe Flint, Los Angeles Times