MUMBAI: Time Warner has said that it plans to spin off its Time Inc. into an independent, publicly traded company by the end of the calendar year.

Time Inc. is the publisher of magazines like Time, Sports Illustrated, Fortune and People.

The proposed transaction will be structured as tax-free to Time Warner stockholders. The transaction is contingent on the satisfaction of a number of conditions, including completion of the review process by the Securities and Exchange Commission of required filings under applicable securities regulations and the final approval of transaction terms by Time Warner?s Board of Directors.

Time Warner Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bewkes said: ?After a thorough review of options, we believe that a separation will better position both Time Warner and Time Inc. A complete spin-off of Time Inc. provides strategic clarity for Time Warner Inc., enabling us to focus entirely on our television networks and film and TV production businesses, and improves our growth profile. Time Inc. will also benefit from the flexibility and focus of being a stand-alone public company and will now be able to attract a more natural stockholder base. As we saw with the prior spin-offs of Time Warner Cable and AOL, we expect the separation will create additional value for our stockholders.?
 
Time Inc. CEO Laura Lang has advised Time Warner that she will stay on through this process and until after a successor has been identified.

?Laura indicated to me that we should find a different kind of CEO for this new public company, and I respect her decision,? Bewkes said. ?She has been a great partner who has given Time Inc. forward momentum to make this transition possible, and I look forward to working with her to select the right leader to head the company as an independent entity.?

MUMBAI: US media conglomerate Time Warner?s net income in the third quarter was nearly flat at $838 compared with $822 million a year earlier on a fall in revenues.

Its revenues decreased by three per cent to $6.8 billion in the third quarter from a year earlier on declines at the Film and TV Entertainment and Publishing segments.

Time Warner?s adjusted operating income declined by one per cent to $1.6 billion in the third quarter.

Time Warner chairman and CEO Jeff Bewkes said, "The highlight this quarter was the strength of our Networks businesses, which delivered double digit adjusted operating income growth. This performance illustrates that our investments in content and technology are continuing to pay off.

Bewkes said the company is experiencing good momentum across most of Turner?s networks. TBS, for instance, was up 35 per cent in primetime for adults 18-49 this quarter and is now the number one network on cable this year for adults 18-34.

"At HBO, the unmatched volume of its quality original programming was underscored by the 23 Primetime Emmy awards HBO received this year - more than any other network for the eleventh consecutive year. With compelling content, technological innovations like HBO GO and support from our affiliates, the subscriber trends at HBO today are the best they?ve been in years.

"Our studio faced difficult comparisons in the third quarter, but Warner Bros. Television is having a terrific broadcast season with a successful mix of new and returning shows.

For Warner Bros.? theatrical business, the story this quarter was ?The Dark Knight Rises?, which has brought in over $1 billion at the global box office, surpassing ?The Dark Knight?. And the studio is off to a great start to the fourth quarter with the critical and audience acclaim for Argo, which we?ll follow with the highly-anticipated release next month of the first installment of ?The Hobbit?.

"Overall, I?m very confident about how we?re positioned heading into next year and beyond. Reflecting that confidence and our continued commitment to improving shareholder returns, through November 2 we?ve purchased approximately $2.3 billion of our stock this year."

In the third quarter, the Company posted Adjusted Diluted Net Income per Common Share ("Adjusted EPS") of $0.86 versus $0.79 for the year-ago quarter. Diluted Income per Common Share was $0.86 for the three months ended September 30, 2012 compared to $0.78 in the prior year quarter.

For the first nine months of 2012, cash provided by operations from continuing operations reached $2.3 billion, and free cash flow totalled $2 billion. As of September 30, 2012, Net Debt was $16.7 billion, up from $16.0 billion at the end of 2011, due to share repurchases and dividends, partially offset by the generation of Free Cash Flow.

At the networks division (Turner Broadcasting and HBO) revenues rose by four per cent 4% ($131 million) to $3.3 billion, benefitting from growth of seben per cent ($137 million) in Subscription revenues, which was partially offset by a decline of one per cent ($9 million) in ad revenues. The increase in Subscription revenues resulted mainly from higher domestic rates and, to a lesser extent, an increase in domestic subscribers at HBO and international growth. Advertising revenues benefitted from growth at Turner?s domestic entertainment networks, due principally to higher pricing, offset in part by the timing of certain sports events.

Domestic growth was more than offset by decreases at Turner?s international networks, which were due primarily to the negative effect of foreign currency exchange rates and the shutdown of Turner?s general entertainment network, Imagine, in India and TNT television operations in Turkey, which occurred in the first half of 2012.

Adjusted operating income increased by 12 per cent ($130 million) to $1.2 billion due to higher revenues. Programming expenses were essentially flat compared to the prior year?s quarter as the benefits from the shutdown of Imagine and TNT television operations in Turkey and the timing of sports events were offset by higher costs at HBO due to the timing of original programming. Operating income also increased 12% ($132 million) to $1.2 billion.

In October, Turner entered into an agreement to extend its relationship with Major League Baseball through 2021, providing Turner with television rights and expanded digital rights to both postseason and regular season games. In September, HBO received 23 Primetime Emmy Awards, the most of any network for the eleventh consecutive year, with ?Game of Thrones? receiving six awards, Game Change receiving five awards and ?Boardwalk Empire? receiving four awards. During the quarter, HBO announced that, together with Parsifal International, it plans to launch HBO Nordic, a multi-platform premium television service, in Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark.

In the film and TV entertainment division revenues decreased by 12 per cent ($400 million) to $2.9 billion, due mainly to difficult comparisons to the year ago period. The prior year?s quarter included revenues from the theatrical release of ?Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2? and television license fees from the off-network availabilities of ?The Big Bang Theory? and ?Friends?. This decline was offset in part by the global theatrical performance of ?The Dark Knight Rises? and an increase in subscription video-on-demand revenue.

Adjusted Operating Income declined by 38 per cent ($198 million) to $330 million, due mainly to lower revenues, offset partially by lower print and advertising costs due to fewer theatrical releases in the quarter. Operating income decreased by 37 per cent ($196 million) to $328 million.

For the first ten months of 2012, Warner Bros. achieved the number two spot in domestic box office share with $1.4 billion, led by the releases of ?The Dark Knight Rises?, ?Magic Mike? and ?Journey 2: The Mysterious Island?. ?The Dark Knight Rises? has surpassed $1 billion at the global box office during its theatrical run, exceeding its predecessor The Dark Knight. Warner Bros. is the leading supplier of programming to the broadcast networks, with 25 primetime series announced for the 2012-2013 season. Including cable, animated and first-run syndicated series, Warner Bros. is producing nearly 60 programmes.