Crown Media Holdings reported higher profits in the second quarter as ad revenues continued to rise at the Hallmark cable networks.
Net income rose 26% to $20.1 million, or 6 cents a share, from $16 million, or 4 cents a share, a year ago.
Revenue rose 16% to $113.2 million. Bucking the industry trends, advertising revenue grew 18% to $89.4 million. Subscriber revenue was down 2% because a decline in revenue from one distributor. Last month, Crown Media ended a five-year dispute with AT&T and Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries is being launched by U-verse.
Programming costs were up 11%. Marketing expenses dropped by $1.6 million.
“The strength of our original movies and series, the continued growth of Home & Family and our character-driven mysteries on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries solidified the company’s economic performance over the first half of the year,” Bill Abbott, president and CEO of Crown Media Family Networks, said in a statement. “Our ability to deliver quality, family entertainment continues to resonate with viewers, further positioning the Company to realize our strategic goals through the remainder of the year.”
