MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
OF RESULTS OF OPERATIONS AND FINANCIAL CONDITION
INTRODUCTION
Management's discussion and analysis of results of operations and financial
condition ("MD&A") is provided as a supplement to the accompanying consolidated
financial statements and notes to help provide an understanding of Time Warner
Inc.'s ("Time Warner" or the "Company") financial condition, cash flows and
results of operations. MD&A is organized as follows:
• Overview. This section provides a general description of Time Warner's
business segments, as well as recent developments the Company believes are
important in understanding the results of operations and financial condition
or in understanding anticipated future trends.
• Results of operations. This section provides an analysis of the Company's
results of operations for the three and six months ended June 30, 2008. This
analysis is presented on both a consolidated and a business segment basis.
In addition, a brief description is provided of significant transactions and
events that impact the comparability of the results being analyzed.
• Financial condition and liquidity. This section provides an analysis of the
Company's financial condition as of June 30, 2008 and cash flows for the six
months ended June 30, 2008.
• Caution concerning forward-looking statements. This section provides a
description of the use of forward-looking information appearing in this
report, including in MD&A and the consolidated financial statements. Such
information is based on management's current expectations about future
events, which are inherently susceptible to uncertainty and changes in
circumstances. Refer to the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the
year ended December 31, 2007 (the "2007 Form 10-K"), as well as Item 1A,
"Risk Factors," in Part II of this report, for a discussion of the risk
factors applicable to the Company.
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TIME WARNER INC.
MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
OF RESULTS OF OPERATIONS AND FINANCIAL CONDITION - (Continued)
OVERVIEW
Time Warner is a leading media and entertainment company, whose major
businesses encompass an array of the most respected and successful media brands.
Among the Company's brands are HBO, TNT, CNN, AOL, People, Sports Illustrated,
Time and Time Warner Cable. The Company produces and distributes films through
Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema, including The Dark Knight, Get Smart, Sex and
the City, I Am Legend, 10,000 B.C. and Harry Potter and the Order of the
Phoenix, as well as television series, including Two and a Half Men, Without a
Trace, Cold Case, The Closer and ER. During the six months ended June 30, 2008,
the Company generated revenues of $22.972 billion (up 4% from $22.164 billion in
2007), Operating Income of $3.893 billion (down 13% from $4.476 billion in
2007), Net Income of $1.563 billion (down 31% from $2.270 billion in 2007) and
Cash Provided by Operations of $4.932 billion (up 58% from $3.119 billion in
2007). As discussed more fully in "Business Segment Results," the six months
ended June 30, 2007 included the impact of an approximate $670 million gain on
the sale of AOL's German access business.
Time Warner Businesses
Time Warner classifies its operations into five reportable segments: AOL,
Cable, Filmed Entertainment, Networks and Publishing.
Time Warner evaluates the performance and operational strength of its
business segments based on several factors, of which the primary financial
measure is operating income before depreciation of tangible assets and
amortization of intangible assets ("Operating Income before Depreciation and
Amortization"). Operating Income before Depreciation and Amortization eliminates
the uneven effects across all business segments of considerable amounts of
noncash depreciation of tangible assets and amortization of certain intangible
assets, primarily recognized in business combinations. Operating Income before
Depreciation and Amortization should be considered in addition to Operating
Income, as well as other measures of financial performance. Accordingly, the
discussion of the results of operations for each of Time Warner's business
segments includes both Operating Income before Depreciation and Amortization and
Operating Income. For additional information regarding Time Warner's business
segments, refer to Note 10, "Segment Information."
AOL. AOL LLC (together with its subsidiaries, "AOL") operates a Global Web
Services business that provides online advertising services on both the AOL
Network and third-party Internet sites, referred to as the "Third Party
Network." AOL's Global Web Services business also develops and operates the AOL
Network, a leading network of web brands and free client software and services
for Internet consumers. In addition, through its Access Services business, AOL
operates one of the largest Internet access subscription services in the United
States. As of June 30, 2008, AOL had 8.1 million AOL brand Internet access
subscribers in the U.S., which does not include registrations for the free AOL
service. For the six months ended June 30, 2008, AOL generated revenues of
$2.185 billion (9% of the Company's overall revenues), $755 million in Operating
Income before Depreciation and Amortization and $514 million in Operating
Income.
AOL's strategy is to continue to transition from a business that has relied
heavily on Subscription revenues from dial-up subscribers to one that attracts
and engages more Internet users and takes advantage of the recent as well as
anticipated growth in online advertising by providing advertising services on
both the AOL Network and the Third Party Network. AOL's focus is on growing its
Global Web Services business, while managing costs in this business as well as
managing its declining subscriber base and costs in its Access Services
business. On February 6, 2008, the Company announced that it had begun
separating the AOL Access Services and Global Web Services businesses, which
should enhance the operational focus and strategic options available for each of
these businesses. The Company anticipates that it will be in a position to
operate AOL's Access Services and Global Web Services businesses separately in
2009.
Within its Global Web Services business, in 2007 AOL formed a business group
called Platform-A, which includes AOL's business of selling advertising on the
AOL Network and the Third Party Network and licensing advertising serving
technology to third-party websites. Platform-A sells advertising that uses
optimization and targeting technologies to deliver more effective advertising
and to reach specific audiences across the AOL Network and the Third Party
Network. Advertising services on the Third Party Network are primarily provided
by Platform-A Inc. (formerly Advertising.com, Inc.) and its subsidiaries,
including TACODA LLC, Quigo Technologies LLC, ADTECH AG, Third Screen Media LLC,
Advertising.com LLC and Perfiliate Limited ("buy.at"), each of which is a
wholly-owned subsidiary of AOL.
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TIME WARNER INC.
MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
OF RESULTS OF OPERATIONS AND FINANCIAL CONDITION - (Continued)
During the first six months of 2008, Advertising revenues on the AOL Network
were negatively impacted by certain factors and trends, including shifts in the
mix of sold inventory to lower-priced inventory, lower revenues from certain
advertiser categories, the increasing usage by online advertisers of third-party
advertising networks and declines in the price of advertising inventory.
Additionally, AOL's Advertising revenues were negatively impacted by the
challenges of integrating recently acquired businesses under Platform-A,
including the realignment to create one integrated Platform-A sales force, which
resulted in certain sales execution issues during the first half of the year.
The increasing usage of third-party advertising networks has had a positive
impact on AOL's Third Party Network Advertising revenues. However, Third Party
Network advertising has historically had higher traffic acquisition costs
("TAC") and, therefore, lower incremental margins than display advertising. Due
to the differing cost structures associated with the AOL Network and Third Party
Network components of the Global Web Services business, a period-over-period
increase or decrease in aggregate Advertising revenues will not necessarily
translate into a similar increase or decrease in Operating Income before
Depreciation and Amortization attributable to AOL's advertising activities.
During the first six months of 2008, the Company has experienced a
significant decline in revenues from a major customer of Platform-A Inc. as a
result of the customer's acquisition of a business believed to perform online
advertising services that are similar to those provided by Platform-A Inc., and
the Company anticipates that such revenues will continue to decline for the
remainder of 2008 compared to the similar period in 2007. Revenues from this
relationship decreased to $22 million for the six months ended June 30, 2008
from $104 million for the six months ended June 30, 2007. For the full year
2007, AOL earned Advertising revenues from this relationship of $215 million.
AOL's Publishing business group, a component of the Global Web Services
business, develops and operates the products and programming functions
associated with the AOL Network. The AOL Network consists of a variety of
websites, related applications and services, including those accessed via the
AOL and low-cost Internet access services. Specifically, the AOL Network
includes owned and operated websites, applications and services such as AOL.com,
international versions of the AOL portal, e-mail, AIM, MapQuest, Moviefone, ICQ
and Truveo (a video search engine). The AOL Network also includes TMZ.com, a
joint venture with Telepictures Productions, Inc. (a subsidiary of Warner Bros.
Entertainment Inc.), as well as other co-branded websites owned by third parties
for which certain criteria have been met, including that the Internet traffic
has been assigned to AOL. In addition, during the second quarter of 2008, AOL
completed the acquisition of Bebo, Inc. ("Bebo"), a leading global social media
network. During the second half of 2008, AOL intends to continue to focus on
cross-promoting its content on the AOL Network, which now includes Bebo's
original programming, and provide Bebo users with certain products, such as mail
and instant messaging.
Paid-search advertising activities on the AOL Network are conducted primarily
through AOL's strategic relationship with Google Inc. ("Google"). In connection
with the expansion of this strategic relationship in April 2006, Google acquired
a 5% interest in AOL, and, as a result, 95% of the equity interests in AOL are
indirectly held by the Company and 5% are indirectly held by Google. As part of
the April 2006 transaction, Google received certain registration rights relating
to its equity interest in AOL. Since July 1, 2008, Google has had the right to
require AOL to register Google's 5% equity interest for sale in an initial
public offering. If Google exercises this right, Time Warner will have the right
to purchase Google's equity interest for cash or shares of Time Warner common
stock based on the appraised fair market value of the equity interest in lieu of
conducting an initial public offering. The Company cannot predict whether Google
will request the Company to register its 5% equity interest in AOL or, if
requested, whether the Company would exercise its option to purchase Google's
interest at its then appraised value.
AOL's Access Services business offers an online subscription service to
consumers that includes dial-up Internet access. AOL continued to experience
declines in the first six months of 2008 in the number of its U.S. subscribers
and related revenues, due primarily to AOL's decisions to focus on its
advertising business and offer most of its services (other than Internet access)
for free to support the advertising business, AOL's significant reduction of
subscriber acquisition and retention efforts, and the industry-wide decline of
the dial-up ISP business and growth in the broadband Internet access business.
The decline in U.S. subscribers has moderated, with a decline of 1.3 million for
the six months ended June 30, 2008 compared to a decline of 2.3 million for the
six months ended June 30, 2007. The decline in subscribers has had an adverse
impact on AOL's Subscription revenues. However, dial-up network costs have also
decreased and are anticipated to continue to decrease as subscribers decline.
AOL's Advertising revenues associated with the AOL Network, in large part, are
generated from the activity of current and former AOL subscribers. Therefore,
the decline in subscribers also could have an adverse impact on AOL's
Advertising revenues generated on the AOL Network to the extent that subscribers
canceling their subscriptions do not maintain their relationship with and usage
of the AOL Network.
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TIME WARNER INC.
MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
OF RESULTS OF OPERATIONS AND FINANCIAL CONDITION - (Continued)
Cable. Time Warner's cable business, Time Warner Cable Inc. and its
subsidiaries ("TWC"), is the second-largest cable operator in the U.S., with
technologically advanced, well-clustered systems located mainly in five
geographic areas - New York State (including New York City), the Carolinas,
Ohio, southern California (including Los Angeles) and Texas. As of June 30,
2008, TWC served approximately 14.7 million customers who subscribed to one or
more of its video, high-speed data and voice services. For the six months ended
June 30, 2008, TWC generated revenues of $8.458 billion (37% of the Company's
overall revenues), $2.927 billion in Operating Income before Depreciation and
Amortization and $1.374 billion in Operating Income.
TWC principally offers three services - video, high-speed data and voice -
over its broadband cable systems. TWC markets its services separately and in
"bundled" packages of multiple services and features. As of June 30, 2008, 51%
of TWC's customers subscribed to two or more of its primary services, including
19% of its customers who subscribed to all three primary services. Historically,
TWC has focused primarily on residential customers, while also selling video,
high-speed data and networking and transport services to commercial customers.
Recently, TWC has begun selling voice services to small- and medium-sized
businesses as part of an increased emphasis on its commercial business. In
addition, TWC earns revenues by selling advertising time to national, regional
and local businesses.
Video is TWC's largest service in terms of revenues generated and, as of
June 30, 2008, TWC had approximately 13.3 million basic video subscribers.
Although providing video services is a competitive and highly penetrated
business, TWC expects to continue to increase video revenues through the
offering of advanced digital video services, as well as through price increases
and digital video subscriber growth. As of June 30, 2008, TWC had approximately
8.5 million digital video subscribers, which represented approximately 64% of
its basic video subscribers. TWC's digital video subscribers provide a broad
base of potential customers for additional services. Video programming costs
represent a major component of TWC's expenses and are expected to continue to
increase, reflecting contractual rate increases, subscriber growth and the
expansion of service offerings. TWC expects that its video service margins as a
percentage of video revenues will continue to decline over the next few years as
increases in programming costs outpace growth in video revenues.
As of June 30, 2008, TWC had approximately 8.1 million residential high-speed
data subscribers. TWC expects continued strong growth in residential high-speed
data subscribers and revenues during 2008; however, the rate of growth of both
subscribers and revenues is expected to continue to slow over time as high-speed
data services become increasingly well-penetrated. TWC also offers commercial
high-speed data services and had 287,000 commercial high-speed data subscribers
as of June 30, 2008.
Approximately 3.4 million residential subscribers received Digital Phone
service, TWC's IP-based telephony voice service, as of June 30, 2008. TWC
expects strong increases in Digital Phone subscribers and revenues for the
foreseeable future. TWC also rolled out Business Class Phone, a commercial
Digital Phone service, to small- and medium-sized businesses during 2007 in the
majority of its systems and has nearly completed the roll-out in the remainder
of its systems during the first half of 2008. As of June 30, 2008, TWC had
16,000 commercial Digital Phone subscribers.
Some of TWC's principal competitors, direct broadcast satellite operators and
incumbent local telephone companies in particular, either offer or are making
significant capital investments that will allow them to offer services that
provide features and functions comparable to the video, high-speed data and/or
voice services offered by TWC. These services are also offered in bundles
similar to TWC's and, in certain cases, such offerings include wireless service.
The availability of these bundled service offerings has intensified competition,
and TWC expects that competition will continue to intensify in the future as
these offerings become more prevalent. TWC plans to continue to enhance its
services with innovative offerings, which TWC believes will distinguish its
services from those of its competitors.
Time Warner owns approximately 84% of the common stock of TWC (representing a
90.6% voting interest), and also owns an indirect 12.43% non-voting equity
interest in TW NY Cable Holding Inc. ("TW NY"), a subsidiary of TWC. On May 20,
2008, TWC and its subsidiaries Time Warner Entertainment Company, L.P. ("TWE")
and TW NY entered into a Separation Agreement (the "Separation Agreement") with
Time Warner and its subsidiaries Warner Communications Inc. ("WCI"), Historic TW
Inc. ("Historic TW") and American Television and Communications Corporation
("ATC"), the terms of which will govern TWC's legal and structural separation
from Time Warner. Refer to "Recent Developments" for further details.
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TIME WARNER INC.
MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
OF RESULTS OF OPERATIONS AND FINANCIAL CONDITION - (Continued)
Filmed Entertainment. Time Warner's Filmed Entertainment segment comprises
Warner Bros. Entertainment Group ("Warner Bros."), one of the world's leading
studios, and New Line Cinema Corporation ("New Line"). For the six months ended
June 30, 2008, the Filmed Entertainment segment generated revenues of
$5.404 billion (22% of the Company's overall revenues), $476 million in
Operating Income before Depreciation and Amortization and $277 million in
Operating Income.
The Filmed Entertainment segment has diversified sources of revenues within
its film and television businesses, including an extensive film library and a
global distribution infrastructure, which has helped it to deliver consistent
long-term performance. As announced in the first quarter of 2008, in an effort
to increase operational efficiencies and maximize performance within the Filmed
Entertainment segment, the Company has reorganized the New Line business to be
operated as a unit of Warner Bros. while maintaining separate development,
production and other operations. During the first six months of 2008, the
Company incurred restructuring charges related to planned involuntary employee
terminations in connection with the reorganization. The Company expects to incur
additional restructuring charges related to the reorganization during the
remainder of 2008.
Warner Bros. continues to be an industry leader in the television business.
For the 2007-2008 broadcast season, Warner Bros. produced more than 20 primetime
series, with at least one series airing on each of the five broadcast networks
(including Two and a Half Men, Without a Trace, Cold Case, ER and Smallville),
as well as original series for several cable networks (including The Closer and
Nip/Tuck).
In February 2008, the Writers Guild of America (East and West) (the "WGA")
reached an agreement with the film and television studios, ending an
industry-wide work stoppage that began on November 5, 2007. The strike caused
cancellations and delays in the production of Warner Bros.' television programs
and feature films and hampered the development of new television series.
Although the Company has experienced a short-term reduction in operating results
attributable to these cancellations and delays, it does not anticipate that the
strike will have a significant long-term impact.
The sale of DVDs has been one of the largest drivers of the segment's profit
over the last several years, and its extensive library of theatrical and
television titles positions it to continue to benefit from sales of home video
product to consumers. However, the industry and the Company have experienced a
leveling of DVD sales due to several factors, including increasing competition
for consumer discretionary spending, piracy, the maturation of the standard
definition DVD format and the fragmentation of consumer leisure time. In the
first quarter of 2008, the home video industry settled on the Blu-ray format as
the single high-definition technology. The shift to a single format may lead to
increased consumer purchases of high-definition players and DVDs.
Piracy, including physical piracy as well as illegal online file-sharing,
continues to be a significant issue for the filmed entertainment industry. Due
to technological advances, piracy has expanded from music to movies and
television programming. The Company has taken a variety of actions to combat
piracy over the last several years, including the launch of new services for
consumers at competitive price points, aggressive online and customs
enforcement, compressed release windows and educational campaigns, and will
continue to do so, both individually and together with cross-industry groups,
trade associations and strategic partners.
Networks. Time Warner's Networks segment comprises Turner Broadcasting
System, Inc. ("Turner") and Home Box Office, Inc. ("HBO"). For the six months
ended June 30, 2008, the Networks segment generated revenues of $5.485 billion
(22% of the Company's overall revenues), $1.800 billion in Operating Income
before Depreciation and Amortization and $1.623 billion in Operating Income.
The Turner networks - including such recognized brands as TNT, TBS, CNN,
Cartoon Network, truTV and Headline News - are among the leaders in
advertising-supported cable TV networks. For six consecutive years, more
primetime households have watched advertising-supported cable TV networks than
the national broadcast networks. The Turner networks generate revenues
principally from the sale of advertising and from receipt of monthly subscriber
fees paid by cable system operators, satellite distribution services and other
distributors. Key contributors to Turner's success are its continued investments
in high-quality programming focused on sports, original and syndicated series,
news, network movie premieres and animation leading to strong ratings and
Advertising and Subscription revenue growth, as well as strong brands and
operating efficiency.
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TIME WARNER INC.
MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
OF RESULTS OF OPERATIONS AND FINANCIAL CONDITION - (Continued)
HBO operates the HBO and Cinemax multichannel pay television programming
services, with the HBO service ranking as the nation's most widely distributed
premium pay television service. HBO generates revenues principally from monthly
subscriber fees from cable system operators, satellite distribution services and
other distributors. An additional source of revenues is the sale of its original
programming, including The Sopranos, Sex and the City, Rome and Entourage.
During the first half of 2008, the results of the Networks segment benefited
from the segment's recent international expansion efforts, including Turner's
fourth-quarter 2007 acquisition of seven pay networks operating principally in
Latin America and HBO's acquisitions of additional interests in HBO Asia and HBO
South Asia during the fourth quarter of 2007 and the first quarter of 2008. The
Company anticipates that international expansion will continue to be an area of
focus at the Networks segment for the foreseeable future.
Publishing. Time Warner's Publishing segment consists principally of magazine
publishing and related websites as well as a number of direct-marketing and
direct-selling businesses. The segment generated revenues of $2.221 billion (10%
of the Company's overall revenues), $414 million in Operating Income before
Depreciation and Amortization and $311 million in Operating Income for the six
months ended June 30, 2008.
As of June 30, 2008, Time Inc. published over 120 magazines worldwide,
including People, Sports Illustrated, InStyle, Southern Living, Real Simple,
Time, Cooking Light, Entertainment Weekly and What's on TV. Time Inc. generates
revenues primarily from advertising (including advertising on digital
properties), magazine subscriptions and newsstand sales. The Company owns IPC
Media ("IPC"), one of the largest consumer magazine companies in the U.K., and
the magazine subscription marketer, Synapse Group, Inc. The Company's Publishing
segment has experienced a continued decline in print advertising sales due to
the uncertain economy and the ongoing shift of advertising expenditures to
digital media, which is expected to continue. Time Inc. continues to invest in
developing digital content, including the launches of Health.com and the
MyHomeIdeas.comnetwork and the expansion of Sports Illustrated's, People's and
InStyle's digital properties as well as the expansion of digital properties
owned by IPC and the acquisition of various websites, to advance the Publishing
segment's digital initiatives. For both the three and six months ended June 30,
2008, online Advertising revenues were 9% of Time Inc.'s total Advertising
revenues, compared to 6% for both the three and six months ended June 30, 2007.
Time Inc.'s direct-selling division, Southern Living At Home, sells home decor
products through independent consultants at parties hosted in people's homes
throughout the U.S.
Recent Developments
TWC Separation from Time Warner
On May 20, 2008, the Company and its subsidiaries WCI, Historic TW and ATC
entered into the Separation Agreement with TWC and its subsidiaries TWE and TW
NY. Pursuant to the Separation Agreement, (i) Time Warner will complete certain
internal restructuring transactions, (ii) Historic TW, a wholly-owned subsidiary
of Time Warner, will transfer its 12.43% interest in TW NY to TWC in exchange
for 80 million newly issued shares of TWC Class A Common Stock (the "TW NY
Exchange"), (iii) all TWC Class A Common Stock and TWC Class B Common Stock then
held by Historic TW will be distributed to Time Warner, (iv) TWC will declare
and pay a special cash dividend (the "Special Dividend") of $10.855 billion
($10.27 per share of TWC Common Stock) to be distributed pro rata to all holders
of TWC Class A Common Stock and TWC Class B Common Stock, resulting in the
receipt by Time Warner of approximately $9.25 billion from the dividend
immediately prior to the Distribution (as defined below), (v) TWC will file with
. . .