Ten scraps sports format as ratings, profit tumble
April 7, 2011 - 1:14PM
Ten Network Holdings will relaunch its digital sports channel, One, with general content in May, as it released results showing a 16 per cent fall in first-half net profit.
Ten Network's acting chief executive, Lachlan Murdoch, said the interim result was not acceptable.
Net profit fell to $49.52 million for the six months to February 28 from $58.7 million a year earlier, Sydney-based Ten said in a statement today.
Revenue increased 2.4 per cent to $485.76 million.
Stock in Ten was up half a cent at $1.34 in early afternoon trade.
??The half-year results are not acceptable and immediate action is already underway to address them,?? Mr Murdoch said in the statement to the stock market.
??Disappointingly for Ten?s 1300 employees and 22,500 shareholders, these results do not demonstrate Ten?s underlying strengths and potential.
??Ten is at a crucial juncture in its history. Free-to-air television is an excellent business with strong growth prospects. However, Ten has been under-delivering and this must change.
??Importantly, this change has already begun.??
Mr Murdoch said Ten was addressing the underperformance by scrutinising costs and relaunching sports channel One with more general content.
??One will now broaden its focus on engaging and entertaining males 25-54 and the schedule will centre on targeted drama, HD movies and documentaries, and
premium sport.
??Ten has a 2.5+ per cent share aspiration for the relaunched ONE. The company is confident this will result in additional revenue and an earnings improvement.??
Ten said it would probably only pay a final dividend.
Ten said the recent inclusion of general entertainment into One?s prime-time line up had been successful in boosting ratings, and this had given impetus to a relaunch of the digital channel.
??The bold, broad appeal of Ten along with the already proven performance of the distinctly youthful Eleven and now with the broader content offering for the male-skewed One positions us to capitalise on viewer and advertiser engagement,?? Ten chief programming officer David Mott said.
Ten said its television earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation came in at $95 million, $3 million more than the update given to the market on February 23.
The company said costs had been lower than expected in the first half.
Television revenue was only up 2.2 per cent from a year earlier, mainly because the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games performed below expectations.
The network said it had grown its total audience by 9.9 per cent.
Ten said it was launching
The Bolt Report, hosted by Andrew Bolt, on May 8. The program will be on Sundays at 10am.
Meet the Press will be moved to 10.30am.
Ten said the 5pm weekend news had been resumed, George Negus?s current affairs program moved to 6.30pm and the 5pm weekday news extended to a 90-minute bulletin.
AAP
