CORRECT: TVNZ 1H profit drops 26%, online revenues grow

CORRECT: TVNZ half-year profit drops 26 percent, online revenues grow

(Removes incorrect 4th par referring to dividend payment from FY11 period.)

Feb. 28 (BusinessDesk) - State-owned broadcaster Television New Zealand's earnings after tax for the six months to Dec. 31 fell 26 percent to $14.2 million as advertising revenues fell and the network spent an extra $10.5 million buying programmes, including top-rating New Zealand's Got Talent.

Total operating revenues of $193.9 million for the half-year compared with $199.7 million in the same period a year earlier, with advertising revenue falling to $165.3 million, from $168.0 million in the previous period.

Operating cash flows were markedly down at $13.7 million, compared with $31.8 million in the previous period, reflecting higher payments to content providers and the loss of government funding that occurred with the closure of TVNZ7.

Going against the trend for falling revenues was a 19.8 percent increase in "other operating revenue", mainly representing strong advertising revenue and viewer growth for TVNZ's online, on-demand programming product.

"Online is a currently a small part of our revenue, but it's a big part of our future," said TVNZ chief executive Kevin Kenrick in a statement.

(BusinessDesk)

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