CABLEFAX DAILY notes Turner in Q1, "helped by its NCAA basketball coverage," posted 5% revenue growth to $2.7B and 26% growth in "adjusted operating income" to $1.1B. Advertising "was up 4% in the quarter." Time Warner Chair & CEO Jeff Bewkes said, "The evolution of programming on TBS and TNT is just getting going." Time Warner "plans to reinvest savings from programming changes, including the absence of NASCAR, but it will take some time" (CABLEFAX DAILY, 4/30). INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY's Elaine Low notes Time Warner's earnings "rose 22.7%," while revenue grew 4.8% to $7.13B, "topping views" for $7B (INVESTORS.com, 4/29).
CABLE FEES: In N.Y., Emily Steel writes TWC last year was "bloodied and bruised" when it "agreed to its now-scuttled" $45B sale to Comcast. But TWC following the failed deal "is in a stronger position, giving the company greater control over its destiny" (N.Y. TIMES, 4/30).
NEVER FORGET: Fox Sports announced plans for a variety of sports-related events near Pearl Harbor during the Dec. 4-7 long weekend. On Friday, Dec. 4, Fox MLB analyst Harold Reynolds will help host a children's clinic at a local school alongside several MLBers. On Saturday, FS1 will use a set on the bow of the Battleship Missouri Memorial for studio shows. "Fox NFL Sunday" will present a two-hour live edition from the Missouri deck. On Monday, the 74th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack, FS1 will air the Oklahoma-Villanova and Navy-Oregon men's basketball games at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam (Fox).
SWAG OF A JAG: In Jacksonville, Gene Frenette wrote former Jaguars RB Maurice Jones-Drew, in formally retiring Tuesday, "demonstrated the very traits that should serve him well in his planned post-football career as a television analyst: he engages people, holds his audience's attention, and always looks like he’s having fun." What makes Jones-Drew a "media star, and a magnet for the TV cameras, is an outgoing personality and bright smile that will propel him into a long, successful career as a football commentator" (JACKSONVILLE.com, 4/28).
