Time Warner announced its third quarter financial performance with revenues up just 2% to $6.4 billion and advertising revenues, a good indicator of the recession, up by 9%, much of that at Turner Broadcasting.
Its Networks cable channels side was the most successful with revenues rising 9% to $3 billion, and good rises in subscription revenues, advertising revenues and doing less well, but slightly up, in content revenues.
Subscription revenues (up 10%) benefited primarily from higher subscription rates and the consolidation of HBO Central Europe. Increased advertising revenues (up 9%) were the result of international expansion and growth, as well as strong domestic scatter demand and yield management, partially offset by the impact of lower audience delivery at Turner’s domestic news networks. The 2% growth in content revenues reflected higher sales of HBO’s original programming, including True Blood and The Pacific. Income for Networks also rose 17% to $1.1 billion.
In Filmed Entertainment (Warner Brothers) revenues were flat at $2.8 billion though operating income fell 31% to $200 million, although Warner said that Warner Home Video continued to rank number 1 in US home video sales for the first nine months of 2010, with a 20.4% share. Publishing revenues were down 1% although margins were better due to cost cutting measures.