Discovery Communications says the slow-starting Oprah Winfrey Network, turned cash-flow positive in the second quarter, ahead of the company’s early projections.
Speaking on the company’s earnings call with analysts, Discovery CEO David Zaslav said OWN’s ratings were up 39% among women 25 to 54 on the strength of new shows, including two under a recent agreement with Tyler Perry. The network added 30 new advertisers during the upfront and scored double-digit increases in scatter pricing.
Combined with increased fees from long-term affiliate agreements, OWN had begun paying back the investment Discovery made in the channel, Zaslav said. Discovery had said it expected OWN to turn cash-flow positive in the second half of the year.
Discovery has invested $509 million in the network, a joint venture with Winfrey. Although hyped at launch, the network did not have enough programming to attract viewers and went through a number of executive teams before finding its footing.
Zaslav congratulated Winfrey the network’s current performance and said Discovery was bullish on the network’s long-term trajectory.
