Jeff Bewkes: Our Films and HBO Are Working, TNT Is Not

Time Warner's Jeff Bewkes: Our Films and HBO Are Working, TNT Is Not

The company posts revenues of $7.5 billion in Q1

Time Warner posted revenues of $7.5 billion, beating Wall Street's expectations.

Adjusted earnings per share rose to 97 cents a share. Analysts had predicted 88 cents on average, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Revenues excluding Time Inc. increased 10 percent to $6.8 billion. Adjusted Operating Income excluding Time Inc. grew 12 percent to $1.6 billion. The company plans to spin off Time Inc. as an indepent, publicly traded company this quarter.

Warner Bros. revenues increased 14 percent ($385 million) to $3.1 billion, mainly due to a stronger theatrical slate, led by “The Lego Movie” and “300: Rise of an Empire.”

Home Box Office boasted the most-watched freshman series in its history with “True Detective,” and the Season 4 premiere of “Game of Thrones” on April 6 drew HBO's largest audience since “The Sopranos” finale.

The NCAA Tournament helped TBS maintain its position as ad-supported cable's top primetime network among adults 18-34 and 18-49. CNN, boosted by Malaysia Airlines Fligth 370 coverage, was up 50 percent in its key demographic in March. And Adult Swim, finished the quarter as the top ad-supported cable network in total day for adults 18-34.

On the subsequent earnings conference call, CEO Jeff Bewkes (pictured) did admit to some struggles on television, specifically with TruTV (“significant drop-off in performance”) and TNT. On the latter, the Time Warner chief commented: ”We didn't take enough creative risk with its programming, and as a result, TNT has lost some ground with younger viewers.”
Roger: Expect surge in violent content and nudity in the new shows premiering soon.

Overall though, he's quite pleased. “We are off to a very strong start in 2014, with results that demonstrate both the returns we can achieve on our investments in great storytelling and the growth potential of our businesses,” said Bewkes.