Original programming, currently making up about 20% of the content in its Turner Broadcasting Systems networks, will double to 40% over the next 18 months to two years, said Time Warner chairman and CEO Jeff Bewkes told andindustry audience Wednesday.
Turner has been under some ratings pressure over the past several months – although it was the top rated cable network in the summer – and has undergone a shakeup in recent weeks. In June new CEO John Martin unveiled his Turner 2020 initiative aimed at boosting ratings and paring costs at the channels. Last month, the company offered buyouts to about 500 employees with 10 years at the company or more, and its head of programming — Michael Wright — resigned. Wright later landed as CEO at DreamWorks Studios.
At the Goldman Sachs Communacopia conference in New York, Bewkes said that Turner content currently consists of 20% originals, 10% sports and 70% acquired programming.
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