by JESSE KATZENSTEIN

Time Warner Inc.
One Time Warner Center
New York, NY 10019-8016
212-484-8000
www.timewarner.com
[2]

About

Time Warner Inc. is one of the largest media corporations in the United States, specializing in TV, film, and entertainment.  Its operating divisions consist of Turner Broadcasting System, Home Box Office Inc., and Warner Bros. Entertainment. [3]

Executives

Chairman and CEO – Jeff Bewkes

EVP and CFO – Howard M. Averill

EVP and General Counsel – Paul T. Cappuccio

Financials and Company Plans

Time Warner is a publicly traded company.  In 2014, their revenue grew to $27.36 billion, which is up 3% from their 2013 annual revenue of $26.46 billion. [7]  In the release of Time Warner’s Full Year 2014 Financial Results, Time Warner stated that their fourth quarter revenues decreased by 1% to $7.5 billion and can be attributable to a decrease in income from Warner Bros.  It was also stated that Home Box Office Inc., or HBO, and Turner Broadcasting Company were responsible for counterbalancing an even larger decrease in revenue. [8]

In a story released by Bloomberg.com, it was said that CBS Corp. was thinking of a merger deal with Time Warner.  CEO of CBS Corp., Leslie Moonves, is said to have mentioned the idea to CEO Jeff Bewkes in meetings between the two companies last year. [9]  Critics claim this merger would benefit both companies regarding their position in sports broadcasting, and this powerful advantage would make this powerhouse “a good alternative for ESPN.” [10]  However, Jeff Bewkes seems to be satisfied with keeping Time Warner and CBS separate.

Lulegacy.com released an article on April 16th revealing the results of 30 ratings firms who have been analyzing Time Warner’s stock.  The average stock price target came out to $91.71.  A little over two-thirds of the analysts put a “Buy” recommendation on the stock, while just 9 of the analysts gave the stock a “Hold” recommendation. [11]

HBO

According to Time Warner’s company website, HBO is the top domestic premium pay television service in the United States.  This service offers both HBO programming and Cinemax programming. [13]  HBO is known for its original television series such as Game Of Thrones, Girls, True Detective, and Silicon Valley. [14]  Cinemax is known for its original television series such as The Knick, Banshee, and Strike Back. [15]  Both services also offer programming of movies released theatrically.  HBO’s most popular and successful show, Game Of Thrones, has won Primetime Emmy Awards in every year of its existence. [16]  Its fifth and most current season debuted on April 12th of this year, but was subject to many news stories when almost half of the season was linked on illegal websites all over the world.  Jeff Bewkes’ comments were surprisingly optimistic when he explained that these leaks can offset some paid advertising, and joked about how distributing the most pirated show in the world is “better than an Emmy.” [17]

On April 7th, Time Warner announced that HBO NOW is now available to Apple and Optimum Online customers.  HBO NOW is HBO’s streaming service where consumers can stream all available episodes from their favorite HBO shows on all compatible devices.  The service costs $14.99 per month, but if consumers purchase the service in the month of April, they are granted with a 30-day free trial. [18]

Turner Broadcasting System

Turner Broadcasting system controls and manages some of the leading television networks in the country.  These networks cover programming in entertainment, news, sports, and animation, among other television genres.  Turner’s networks TNT and TBS are most notably known for their broadcasting of major sporting events such as the NBA Playoffs and the NCAA College Basketball Tournament. [20]

TNT and TBS both had a huge turnout this year during the NCAA tournament.  Time Warner released a statement on March 29th stating that the Kentucky vs. Notre Dame broke the record for the most-viewed and highest-rated college basketball game in cable TV history.  As of that day, total viewership was up 2% from the previous year. [21]  A little over a week later, the semifinal game between Kentucky and Wisconsin broke one of those records; the most-viewed college basketball game in cable TV history.  Total audience for the Final Four across all networks (TBS, TNT, truTV) attained 41.7 million viewers, a 24% increase from 2014. [22]

As for original content, Turner delivers the #1 comedy with adults 18-49 in The Big Bang Theory (TBS), and delivers the #1 original animated series in Mr. Pickles and Squidbillies (Adult Swim).  For kids, Cartoon Network is the leading channel that holds “49 of basic cable’s top 50 telecasts for young boys.”  Turner recently announced a revamp of the Cartoon Network live streaming app in Australia called Cartoon Network Watch and Play. [23]

In the news genre, CNN is Turner’s premier news network.  It is one of the first 24-hour news networks that provides breaking news across all media platforms.  Its popular programs include Anderson Cooper 360, Newsroom, Situation Room, and State of the Union. [24]

Warner Bros. Entertainment

Warner Bros. Entertainment is a studio responsible for Time Warner’s influence in the TV, film, and home entertainment industries, as well as being a global distribution company. [26]  For it’s work in film, 2014 became the 14th consecutive year Warner Bros. Picture Groups grossed $1 billion or more at both the domestic and international box office. [27]  It has also done what no other studio has done, which is gross over $3 billion at the international box office for two consecutive years.  On March 30th, Warner Bros. reported their new agreement with Redbox, a company that provides self-service kiosks for consumers to purchase movies and video games on various platforms.  There are 35,000 kiosks across the country.  This two-year agreement leaves a 28-day window for consumers to purchase Warner Bros. films on Blu-ray and DVD. [28]

The Future for Time Warner 

The future may or may not be bright for Time Warner.  At this point in the year, their action plan should be to play the waiting game and see how all of their assets perform.  There are high hopes for the current season of Game Of Thrones despite the leaking scandal.  Warner Bros. has an exciting lineup of movies coming out in late spring/early summer including The Water Diviner, Pan, Magic Mike XXL, and San Andreas.

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Sources

[1] – Time Warner Logo, Retrieved, April 17, 2015

[2] – Time Warner Contact Info, Retrieved, April 17, 2015

[3] – Time Warner Inc. Company Page, Retrieved, April 17, 2015

[4] – Jeff Bewkes Bio Page, Retrieved, April 17, 2015

[5] – Howard M. Averill Bio Page, Retrieved, April 17, 2015

[6] – Paul T. Cappuccio Bio Page, Retrieved, April 17, 2015

[7] – Time Warner Annual Earnings, Retrieved, April 17, 2015

[8] – Time Warner Q4/Full Year 2014 Results, Retrieved, April 17, 2015

[9] – “Moonves Said To Have Mulled Time Warner Deal As CBS Plots,” Bloomberg Business, Retrieved, April 17, 2015

[10] – “Karmazin: CBS and Time Warner Inc. Need To Merge,” Fierce Cable, Retrieved, April 17, 2015

[11] – “Time Warner Recieves $91.71 Consensus Price Target From Brokerages,” The Legacy, Retrieved, April 17, 2015

[12] – HBO Logo, Retrieved, April 17, 2015

[13] – HBO Company Page, Retrieved, April 17, 2015

[14] – HBO Website, Retrieved, April 17, 2015

[15] – Cinemax Website, Retrieved, April 17, 2015

[16] – Game Of Thrones Awards List, IMDb, Retrieved, April 17, 2015

[17] – “Game Of Thrones Season 5 Premiere Set Rating Record Despite Episode Leak,” Forbes, Retrieved, April 17, 2015

[18] – HBO NOW Press Release, Retrieved, April 17, 2015

[19] – Turner Broadcasting System Logo, Retrieved, April 17, 2015

[20] – Turner Broadcasting System Company Page, Retrieved, April 17, 2015

[21] – “2015 NCAA Scores Highest Average Viewership in 22 Years,” Time Warner, Retrieved, April 17, 2015

[22] – “2015 Final Four Semifinals Reach More Than 41 Million Viewers,” Time Warner, Retrieved, April 17, 2015

[23] – “Cartoon Network Activates Live Streaming App,” Time Warner, Retrieved, April 17, 2015

[24] – List of CNN TV Shows, Retrieved, April 17, 2015

[25] – Warner Bros. Entertainment Logo, Retrieved, April 17, 2015

[26] – Warner Bros. Entertainment Company Website, Retrieved, April 17, 2015

[27] – Warner Bros. Entertainment Company Page, Retrieved, April 17, 2015

[28] – “Redbox, Warner Bros. Announce New Agreement,” Time Warner, Retrieved, April 17, 2015