Time Warner (TV/cable channels only)

Image

by Cameron MacPherson
 
Time Warner, Inc.

[1] Time Warner Logo

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

About

          Time Warner, Inc. is an American media company with properties in the television and film industries, including cable properties under the Turner Broadcasting System, its premium cable property Home Box Office (HBO), and its production unit Warner Brothers Studios. [2]

Time Warner has three major divisions: HBO, Turner, and Warner Brothers

[3] Time Warner has three major divisions: HBO, Turner, and Warner Brothers

Executives

jbewkes_0

[4] Jeff Bewkes, Chairman and CEO

gginsberg

[6] Gary L. Ginsberg, Executive VP, Corporate Marketing and Communications

Howard M. Averill, Executive Vice President and CFO

[5] Howard M. Averill, Executive Vice President and CFO

 

Financials and Strategies

           Time Warner Inc., a publicly traded company, posted a $29.8 billion revenue for 2013, a 4% increase from 2012. [7On July 16, 2014, news broke that Time Warner had rejected an $80 billion buyout offer from 21st Century Fox. The proposal offered $85 a share for a stock that, just before the announced rejection, sat just above $70 a share. [8] CEO Jeff Bewkes has made a commitment to reach the $85 per share target to encourage stockholders that the company has growth potential. Under Bewkes, the financial strategy of the company has been to minimize expenses to maximize profits. Time Warner Inc. has recently spun off Time Warner Cable and Time Inc. properties, retaining only its Turner cable properties, HBO, and the Warner Brothers Studios. [9]

Time Warner rejected a buyout bid from 21st Century Fox

[12 ] Time Warner rejected an $80 billion buyout bid from 21st Century Fox

            Even with a smaller portfolio of properties, the emphasis on streamlined efficiency still dominates Time Warner’s financial strategy. In recent months, there have been layoffs in all three of Time Warner’s divisions. Turner Broadcasting offered a buyout option to 6% of its staffers in August, two months before announcing that the company would cut 1,475 jobs.[10][11] Time Warner cut seven percent, or 150, of its domestic employees for HBO in late October, one week before cutting 1,000 jobs at Warner Brothers Studios. [13][14]

            The strategy, to this point, has been successful. The newly enacted efficiencies and bold strategies for expansion of Time Warner’s HBO property have led to a surge in market valuation. On November 30, the price of Time Warner’s stock reached $85.12 per share, 12 cents above the buyout offer from 21st Century Fox in July (before falling slightly below the line the next day). [15]

[13] A graph showing the price of Time Warner's stock prices over the last three months (TWX)

[16 ] A graph showing the price of Time Warner’s stock prices over the last three months (TWX)

HBO Developments

HBO, a division of Time Warner

[17 ] HBO, a division of Time Warner

 According to Time Warner, a major reason for rejecting the buyout offer was the growth potential of HBO. On September 16, ten days after 21st Century Fox CEO Rupert Murdoch withdrew his buyout offer, Time Warner announced plans for a fourth quarter marketing push for HBO across broadcast, cable, and digital platforms. [18]  A week later, HBO partnered with AT&T to offer customers broadband service, HBO GO, and Amazon’s Prime membership for a limited time offer. [19] The move, similar to Comcast’s “Internet Plus” package, signaled another step towards unbundling HBO from pricey cable subscriptions. Just a month after that, Time Warner made a major announcement that expanded on this departure from cable bundles. Time Warner stated that it planned to offer a standalone streaming platform through its online HBO GO service starting in 2015. The service will be available without a cable subscription to HBO, using broadband as its distribution channel. [20] While the details about available programming and distribution channels are yet to be released, many analysts predict the over-the-top service will be marketed towards cord-cutters and millenials rather than those with existing HBO subscriptions. [21

            With the new online streaming service, Time Warner hopes to attract customers to HBO who might otherwise be deterred by cable’s lofty price tag. Additionally, it has positioned itself as a viable competitor to Netflix in the digital arena. HBO has fewer domestic subscribers than Netflix, but far more international subscribers; HBO boasts 130 million global subscribers to Netflix’s 50 million. [22] In recent months, Time Warner has sought to expand this international presence. HBO struck a deal with Chinese content distributor Tencent Holdings Ltd., granting the Chinese media giant the exclusive rights to distribute HBO’s original programming. Tencent Video, the company’s online streaming site, will air episodes of HBO shows that have become wildly popular in China through piracy sites. [23] Executives at HBO hope that this move will cut down on piracy, and create a loyal fan base in the world’s most populous country. 

Programming

HBO          

Boardwalk Empire

[24] In 2014, HBO aired the final season of its hit crime show, “Boardwalk Empire”

HBO is known for its award winning original programming and loyal fan bases, particularly with hits like “Game of Thrones,” and “True Detective.” One such program, the smash crime hit “Boardwalk Empire,” finished its television run after five seasons. The series, which has won 18 Emmys, had a strong showing with 2.3 million viewers tuning in live for the series finale. When coupled with a same-night rerun and HBO GO statistics, total same-day viewers exceeded 6.6 million. [25]

HBO launched the final season of its news drama "The Newsroom" [26]

[27 ] HBO launched the final season of its news drama “The Newsroom”

            HBO launched three new shows in its Sunday lineup, including the third and final season of Aaron Sorkin’s “The Newsroom.” The premiere of the truncated season reached a disappointing 1.2 million viewers live, a 40% decrease from the season two premiere. This year, the series does not benefit from the strong lead-ins of “True Blood” and “Boardwalk Empire,” leading to decreases in live ratings. [26]

            It should be noted that live viewership is not as important for HBO due to its lack of advertising. Only about 25 to 30 percent of viewers watch programs live on HBO, as many viewers use the on-demand services or the web-based HBO GO. [28]

 Turner

Turner CEO John Martin [#]

[31 ] Turner CEO John Martin

            Turner Broadcasting and its CEO John Martin have expressed a commitment to take more “creative risks,” and announced that the company would double its funding for original programming by the end of 2018. [29] Turner’s TBS and TNT channels have greatly benefited from airing live sporting events. Alongside Disney, Time Warner renewed its rights to air live NBA games through the 2024-2025 season. TNT is granted the rights to broadcast 64 games a year. [30

            The 2014 American League Championship Series on TBS was the most viewed MLB playoffs on the network since 2010. The 2014 ALCS averaged 4.3 million viewers, despite featuring teams from mid-sized markets. [32] Because sporting events can draw large numbers of live viewers, Turner is able to charge higher prices for advertising and licensing fees. Thus, investing in live sporting rights will continue to be a major component of Turner’s business strategy.

            The mass viewership of sporting events gives Turner additional leverage in negotiations with television distributors. When contract negotiations were stalling between Dish Network and Time Warner in October, Dish Network suddenly blacked out many of Turner’s cable channels, including CNN, TruTV, and Cartoon Network. Dish Chairman Charlie Ergen stated that while blacking out these channels was a “non-issue,” it would be “more painful” to take down the popular Turner channels Dish had left running: TBS and TNT, which both carry major sporting events. [33]

Future

            The future of Time Warner will be heavily scrutinized by corporate analysts. The question remains: can Time Warner create sustained growth, or was it foolish to pass

[34] The Time Warner Center, headquarters of Time Warner, Inc.

[34] The Time Warner Center, headquarters of Time Warner, Inc.

on the 21st Century Fox buyout offer? Time Warner has made decisions to bring its stock prices up in both the short-term, through corporate restructuring and job layoffs, and the long-term, through strategic HBO expansions and property spinoffs. Only sustained growth, most likely fostered by HBO’s continued expansion and Turner’s programming decisions, will determine the success of Time Warner.


[1] Time Warner Inc. logo. Timewarner.com, retrieved 1 December 2014

[2] Time Warner Inc. Timewarner.com, retrieved 1 December 2014

[3] Time Warner Operating DivisionsTimewarner.com, retrieved 1 December 2014.

[4] Jeff Bewkes bio page. Timewarner.com, retrieved 1 December 2014.

[5] Howard Averill bio pageTimewarner.com, retrieved 1 December 2014.

[6] Gary Ginsberg bio page. Timewarner.com, retrieved 1 December 2014.

[7] Time Warner’s quarterly reports. Ir.timewarner.com, retrieved 1 December 2014.

[8] “Time Warner rejected $80B offer from 21st Century Fox: Sources”. CNBC, 16 July 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2014.

[9] “Time Warner Profit Tops Estimates as CEO Pursues Growth”Bloomberg.com, 5 November 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2014.

[10] “Turner Broadcasting offers voluntary buyouts”. CNN Money, 26 August 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2014.

[11] “Turner Broadcasting, Home of CNN, TBS and TNT, Will Cut 1,475 jobs”. The New York Times, 6 October 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2014.

[12] “Time Warner’s HBO to cut 7 percent of staff”. Reuters, 28 October 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2014.

[13] “Warner Bros. Layoffs Beginning Tuesday to Eliminate Roughly 1,000 Jobs”. The Hollywood Reporter, 3 November 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2014.

[14] Twenty First Century Fox logoLogopedia, retrieved 1 December 2014.

[15] Time Warner (TWX) stockMarketWatch, retrieved 1 December 2014.

[16] Graph of TWX stockGoogle Finance, retrieved 1 December 2014.

[17] HBO logoHomeboxoffice.com, retrieved 1 December 2014.

[18] “Time Warner Plans HBO Marketing Push to Speed Growth”. Bloomberg.com, 18 September 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2014.

[19] “AT&T Lures Cord Cutters With $39-a-Month Deal for Broadband, Amazon Prime and HBO”. The Wall Street Journal, 23 September 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2014.

[20] “HBO Plans New Streaming Service, With Eye on Cord Cutters”The New York Times, 15 October 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2014.

[21] “Before HBO Starts Streaming, Time Warner Wants to Make Big Cable Happy”. Businessweek, 5 November 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2014.

[22] “The battle between Netflix and HBO is just beginning. And this man holds the key”The Washington Post, 28 November 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2014.

[23] “Tencent to Distribute HBO Dramas, Movies Online in China”Nadsaq, 28 November 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2014.

[24] Boardwalk Empire posterIMDB, retrieved 1 December 2014.

[25] “‘Boardwalk Empire’ Ratings: Series Ends With 2.3M Watching HBO Finale”Deadline, 27 October 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2014.

[26] “HBO Has a Quiet Sunday With ‘Newsroom’ and ‘Comeback’ Returns”The Hollywood Reporter, 11 November 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2014.

[27] Businessweek, ibid.

[28] The Newsroom posterIMDB, retrieved 1 December 2014.

[29] “Turner Broadcasting CEO Pledges to Double Original Programming Investment”The Hollywood Reporter, 12 November 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2014.

[30] “Walt Disney, Time Warner Said to Renew NBA TV Contracts”Bloomberg.com, 6 October 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2014.

[31] John Martin bio page. Turner.com, retrieved 1 December 2014.

[32] “TBS Finishes Its Most-Viewed MLB Postseason Since 2010”. Multichannel.com, 16 October 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2014.

[33] “Turner Warns Dish Users That TNT & TBS Might Follow CNN, Toons Going Dark”Deadline, 18 November 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2014.

[34] Associated Press file image of the Time Warner CenterSyracuse.com, 08 August 2013. Retrieved 1 December 2014.

Time Warner

By Isabel Sherman
Time Warner Logo

Time Warner Logo [1]

Time Warner Inc. 
One Time Warner Center
New York, NY 10019-8016
Phone Number: 212-484-8000
www.timewarner.com

Key Executives:

Jeff Bewkes- Chairman of the Board and CEO, Time Warner Inc.

Jeff Bewkes- Chairman of the Board and CEO, Time Warner Inc. [1]

John K. Martin- Chief Financial and Administrative Officer, Time Warner Inc.

John K. Martin-
Chief Financial and Administrative Officer, Time Warner Inc. [1]

Howard M. Averill- Senior Vice President and Deputy Chief Financial Officer of Time Warner Inc.

Howard M. Averill- Senior Vice President and Deputy Chief Financial Officer of Time Warner Inc. [1]

Paul T. Cappuccio- Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Time Warner Inc.

Paul T. Cappuccio- Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Time Warner Inc. [1]

Gary L. Ginsberg- Executive Vice President of Corporate Marketing and Communications at Time Warner Inc.

Gary L. Ginsberg- Executive Vice President of Corporate Marketing and Communications at Time Warner Inc. [1]

 For more information on executives click here.

About Time Warner Inc.:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Time Warner Inc. is a multinational media corporation that provides high-quality media and entertainment content through varied outlets. It is one of the largest media conglomerates in the world. [16] It has businesses in television networks, film and television shows, and publishing. The company’s four operating divisions are Home Box Office (HBO), Time Inc., Turner Broadcasting System and Warner Bros. Entertainment. [1]

What Time Warner Owns on TV

[31] Visual representation of Time Warner’s TV assets

Time Inc. runs consumer titles including PeopleTime, and Fortune[16]

Warner Bros Entertainment runs Warner Bros. PicturesNew Line CinemaWarner Bros. Television Group, and DC Entertainment. [1]

brand_stack

[37] Turner Broadcasting’s Brands

 Turner Broadcasting operates some of the leading cable TV networks CNNHLNTNTTBS,  AdultSwimTurner SportsTCMtruTV, and Cartoon NetworkCartoon Network is a go-to channel for kids. CNN is the original 24-hour news network and delivers news to global audiences across all platforms. [1]

HBO is the most successful TV-service in the world. In 2012 it was the number one domestic premium pay television service in primetime and total day ratings. As of 2013, there are approximately 114 million HBO and Cinemax cable subscribers worldwide. There are 8.5 million registered users on HBO GO, which is an unlimited access online/tablet/smart-phone service to watch HBO shows and movies that comes free with an HBO subscription. [1] Current popular HBO shows include The Newsroom, Girls, Veep, True Blood and Game of Thrones[4]

Girls

[18] Girls – A show about 20-something girls in New York created by Lena Dunham is currently filming it’s third season, set to air in January

The Newsroom

[33] The Newsroom  – A political drama series created by Aaron Sorkin just finished its second season on HBO

Competitors:

Major competitors to Time Warner Inc. include NBC Universal, 21st Century Fox, and The Walt Disney Company. [16]

A Brief History Starting with the Warner Brothers in 1923…… 

AOL Time Warner

[36] A graphic representing the unsuccessful merger of Time Warner and AOL that led to its split in 2009

In 1923, Polish immigrant brothers, the Warners, created the film company Warner Brothers Pictures Inc. in Los Angelos. [2]  In 1972, Kinney National Company bought Warner Bros. and established Warner Communications (WCI). [2] In 1989, Time Inc., which was at the time, the third largest cable operator in the country, merged with WCI and Time Warner was formed. [3] The company purchased Turner Broadcasting System in 1996. [3] In January 2001, a $106 billion merger between AOL and Time Warner was approved. [2] The company was called AOL Time Warner, but in 2003 it became just Time Warner. [3] In 2009, Time Warner split with AOL. [2]

 Financials: 

Time Warner is publicly traded under the NYSE with the symbol TWX.

Chart over the last three months  (Sept. 18-Nov. 18)

Chart over the last three months (Sept. 18-Nov. 18)         Visible upward trend [38]

The third quarter for the company ended September 30, 2013. [6]

IMPORTANT STATS FROM 3RD QUARTER:

  •  44 percent increase in earnings from $822 million for the same quarter a year ago to $1.18 billion for the third quarter of 2013 [5]
  • HBO and Turner’s channels provided the biggest increase for Time Warner in the quarter, revenue rose by $182 million to $3.5 billion, increasing 5% [5]
  • Adjusted Operating Income increased 8% to $1.7 billion [6]
  • Adjusted Operating Income margins increased year-over-year for the eighth time in the last nine 
quarters [6]

OTHER RECENT STATS:

TBS Logo

TBS Logo [20]

  • At Turner, as of September, TBS was the #2 ad-supported cable network in primetime for adults 18-34 and 18-49 [6]

TNT Logo

TNT Logo [21]

CNN Logo

CNN Logo [22]

  •  TNT finished the quarter (in September) as the #2 network among adults 25-54 in total day time ratings [6]

 

 

  •    Total day ratings for CNN in its key demographic increased by 15% (September) [6]

 

 

 

 

September 22, 2013: HBO received 27 Primetime Emmy Awards, for series including Veep, The Newsroom, 5 for Boardwalk Empire and 11 for the HBO movie Behind the Candelabra[25] This is the 12th year in the row that HBO has the highest number of Emmy Awards than other station) [6]

Gravity Movie Poster

[1]Gravity was released October 4, 2013 and has made $234,279,000 so far. [29]

RECENT NEWS:

Home Box Office:

September 2013: HBO is set to release a new series, Looking, which stars Jonathon Groff, best known for Glee and the broadway show, Spring Awakening. The series centers on the life of three gay friends living in San Francisco. The show is created by Andrew Haigh and is set to be released Sunday, January 19th at 10:30 p.m. on HBO. It is currently filming in San Francisco. [9]

“Looking” Season 1 Trailer [8]

 

Susan Lacy

[23] Susan Lacy and her Emmy Awards for American Masters and Inventing David Geffen

September 2013: Susan Lacy is moving from PBS to HBO to produce and direct documentaries for HBO. She is best known as the creator and executive producer of American Masters,  a television series that documents the history of icons of American culture. [17] As well as numerous Emmys for American Masters, Lacy has received an Emmy for “Outstanding Documentary or Non-Fiction series” for Inventing David Geffen[17]

PBS

[24] Susan Lacy produced and directed under PBS before she signed the multiyear deal with HBO

Valentine Road

[30] Poster for Valentine Road which  premiered October 7th on HBO

October 2013: The documentary Valentine Road, directed by Marta Cunningham, premiered on HBO, based on an 2008 shooting at a junior high school in Oxnard, Calif. The movie premiered as a part of National Bullying Prevention Month. [11]

Read an interview with the director here:

Variety Article: Interview with Valentine Road Director

November 2013 – HBO signs John Oliver to star is a comedy series set to start in January 2014. The show will be weekly on Sunday nights and will take a satirical view on the news and current events. John Oliver will be leaving The Daily Show with John Stewart to join the HBO family. [10]

John Oliver

John Oliver [10] on the Daily Show

 Turner Broadcasting System: 

October 2013: Turner Broadcasting and Verizon announced a multi-year renewal agreement to provide Turner’s Networks, including CNN, TBS, TNT and Cartoon Network, to Verizon FiOS TV  subscribers across a plethora of platforms. This is a long term distribution agreement that will give FiOS TV subscribers’ access to a large array of on-demand programming. [26]

October 2013: A disagreement over prices between Cable ONE and Turner Broadcasting led Turner to cut channels from Cable ONE on October 1, 2013. [13] A Cable ONE press release stated that Turner Broadcasting wanted an almost 50% increase in price for the channels. It was the largest recess of channels in the company’s history. [14] Cable ONE has 730,000 customers in 19 states and is the 10th largest cable company in the U.S. [14] On October 26, 2013 Cable ONE, according to The Anniston Star, “has reached an agreement with Turner Broadcasting System Inc. to restore Cable One’s carriage of Turner’s channels CNN, CNN en Espanol, HLN, Turner Classic Movies, TNT, TBS, Cartoon Network, truTV and Boomerang.” [13]

Heat-Bulls-Game-2-350x236

[35] Miami Heat opening night game

 October 2013: TNT showed exclusive NBA coverage of the Miami Heat against the Chicago Bulls game on Tuesday, Oct. 29, at 8 p.m. ET. The game was the second highest-rated and most-viewed opening night game in network history with 5.4 million viewers and a 3.3 U.S. rating. [7]

[34] Jack Black guest-starring on Conan

[34] Jack Black guest-starring on Conan

November 2013 : Turner Broadcasting is being forced to pay a $25,000 fine by the Federal Communications Commission[15] In April 2012, a promotional gag for TBS’ Conan used the emergency weather tones to gain attention for a commercial advertising the appearance of Jack Black on the show. The FCC has warned broadcasters not to air the real EAS tones for any reason other than airing a real alert or a test to avoid panicking the public. [15]

Sources:

[1] Time Warner Website

[2] Britannica: Time Warner Inc.

[3] History of Time Warner

[4] Time Warner: About HBO

[5] NY TImes: Time Warner Profits

[6] TWX_3Q13 Earnings Report

[7] TNT Chicago Bulls Vs. Miami Heat Press Release 

[8] Looking Season 1 Trailer

[9] About the New HBO Series 

[10] HBO- John Oliver

[11] NYTimes Valentine Road 

[12] Time Inc. to Split from Time Warner

[13] CableOne Dispute Resolved

[14] CableOne Agreement with Turner

[15] FCC Fines For Conan Ad.

[16] Hoovers- Time Warner

[17] NYTimes Susan Lacy Leaves PBS 

[18] Girls Poster 

[19] Hollywood Reporter – Gravity

[20] TBS Logo

[21] TNT Logo

[22] CNN Logo

[23] Susan Lacy 

[24] PBS Logo

[25] Reuters: Emmy’s Recap

[26] Turner-Verizon Deal

[27] Cable One

[28] FiOS Verizon

[29] Box Office Mojo- Gravity

[30] Valentine Road

[31] Neatorama- Time Warner

[32] Boardwalk Empire Poster

[33] The Newsroom Poster

[34] Jack Black on Conan – FCC Fine

[35] Miami Heat Picture

[36] Split of AOL and Time Warner 

[37] Turner Broadcasting Brands Image 

[38] Yahoo Finance – TWX