Media conglomerate Time Warner reported higher
first quarter profit Wednesday as subscriptions to its pay TV service
increased.
The rise in profit came despite a slip in revenues due to
declining ad sales at CNN, as well as the closing of channels in
India and Turkey.
The company, which owns HBO, CNN and Warner Bros. studios, said it
had generated net income of 720 million dollars in the quarter, up 24
per cent from a year earlier. Revenue was down less than 1 per cent,
to 6.94 billion dollars.
CEO Jeff Bewkes credited the success of HBO drama Game of Thrones
for the strong performance of the pay-TV channel, while Turner
Broadcasting benefited from record viewers of college basketball.
Strong home video sales of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, and
Oscar winner Argo, helped make up for a decline in box-office
revenues.
"We're off to a strong start in 2013, making us even more
confident in our full-year outlook," Bewkes said in a statement.
He affirmed plans to spin off the company's magazine division,
Time Inc., which he said would be completed by the end of the year.
