AMC Networks reported higher third-quarter profits as programming costs fell and domestic ad revenue increased.
Net income rose 33% to $87 million, or $1.35 per share, from $65 million, or 91 cents a share, a year ago. Revenue rose 2.1% to $648 million.
Adjusted operating income for AMC’s domestic networks rose 22.9% to $199.7 billion as they incurred lower programming and marketing expenses.
Revenue at the domestic networks increased 4% to $541.4 million.
Domestic advertising revenue was up 4.5% to $198 million because of higher prices.
“We delivered strong financial performance in the third quarter, and we are on track to meet our 2017 full-year financial targets of total company revenue and adjusted operating income growth,” said CEO Josh Sapan.
“Our results reflect the consistent execution of our long-term strategy of investing in high-quality, immersive content that is resulting in growing demand among traditional distributors, virtual MVPDs, advertisers and consumers; and, importantly, is giving us the ability to monetize the demand for our content through new revenue streams,” Sapan said. “In an evolving media and entertainment marketplace, AMC Networks is well positioned based on our size, our pricing and our content, which includes four of the highest-rated dramas on all of basic cable, giving us the ability to continue to further invest in our content, our brands and new businesses."
