Discovery posts 28% decline in 1Q profit

PanARMENIAN.Net - Discovery Communications Inc. (DISCA), owner of cable networks such as Animal Planet and TLC, reported a 28 percent decline in first-quarter profit after a one-time gain last year on Oprah Winfrey’s network, OWN, Bloomberg reports.

Net income dropped to $221 million, or 57 cents a share, from $305 million, or 74 cents, a year earlier, the Silver Spring, Maryland-based company said in a statement on May 8.

OWN, a cable channel half-owned by Discovery, has struggled to attract viewers after its debut last year and has lost as much as $330 million since its 2008 inception, Bloomberg reported last week. Excluding the $102 million gain Discovery recorded in 2011 when it contributed its Discovery Health channel to OWN, last quarter’s profit gained 8.9 percent, driven by higher advertising and licensing revenue.

OWN may break even at cash flow level in the second half of next year, Discovery Chief Executive Officer David Zaslav said on a conference call. “We remain confident in the growth potential of this network,” Zaslav said.