Crown Media Holdings, parent of Hallmark Channel, Thursday reported that net revenue in the third quarter increased 17%, to $55.3 million, mainly due to gains in revenue from ad sales and subscriber fees.
Crown Media saw a 19% increase in advertising revenue, to $47.8 million from $40.2 million a year ago, “reflecting higher advertising rates, offset in part by lower-than-expected ratings,” according to the company.
In addition, Crown Media scored a 23% increase in subscriber-fee revenue, to $7.4 million from $6 million, “as a result of a net effective rate that was higher on average and an increase in the number of subscribers under certain new and existing agreements.”
Hallmark Channel subscribers increased 13% to 84.5 million, from 74.7 million subscribers in the year-ago period. Since the beginning of the year, Hallmark Channel has added nearly 10 million new subscribers.
"We look forward to the fourth quarter as the highlight of our year where we showcase the best of our holiday themed original programming which typically provides us with our strongest quarter in terms of ratings and profitability, driving us to a strong finish for 2007.” Crown Media president and CEO Henry Schleiff said in a statement.
