OWN Making Money Ahead of Schedule

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RELATED: Discovery Shows Small Q2 ProfitGain

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 from Tyler Perry. The network added
30 new advertisers during the upfront and was getting 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 invested about $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.

Jon Lafayette
Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.