Discovery Delivers Revenue Gains in Q1

SILVER SPRING, May 8:
First-quarter revenues at Discovery Communications increased by 12 percent to
$795 million, led by gains at the company’s international networks.

In the U.S., revenues were
up 3 percent to $491 million. Excluding Travel Channel, which Discovery has
sold off, revenues were up 13 percent. The gains include a 113-percent increase
in digital media revenue primarily driven by the acquisitions of Treehugger.com
and HowStuffWorks.com. There was also a 14-percent rise in ad revenues and a
6-percent gain in distribution revenues. The U.S. business was also boosted by
an 80-percent increase in other revenue items, including Discovery's
advertising sales representation of Travel Channel and the acquisition of
HowStuffWorks in December 2007.

At Discovery Networks
International, revenues gained 23 percent to $267 million, with distribution
revenues up 24 percent and ad revenues up 19 percent. Distribution revenue
growth was primarily due to subscriber increases in Latin America, as well as
Central and Eastern Europe. Advertising revenue growth was led by strong
performances in Germany and Central Europe. Other revenue grew 30 percent.

Discovery’s Commerce and
Education business delivered revenues of $25 million, reflecting a 9-percent
increase. The division received a boost from continued DVD sales of Planet
Earth as well as other popular
series such as Human Body and Dirty
Jobs.

—By Mansha Daswani