NEW YORK – Investments in mythical kingdoms, alien invasions and a famously flamboyant musician are paying off for Time Warner.

The company, which owns HBO, CNN, TNT and Warner Bros., said on Wednesday that it posted an 87 percent jump in net income in the April-June quarter thanks to spending on quality original programming that helped to boost viewer interest, and revenue, at its television networks.

The results beat Wall Street’s predictions and the New York-based company raised its full-year guidance.

But Time Warner Inc.’s stock gave up its midday gains and slipped 24 cents to close at $63.84 in trading Wednesday after earlier hitting $66, its highest price in more than a decade.

Chairman and CEO Jeff Bewkes pointed to popular series such as TNT’s “Falling Skies,” which tells the story of humans fighting an alien invasion, “Game of Thrones,” HBO’s critically acclaimed fantasy drama series, along with HBO’s Emmy-nominated Liberace biopic “Behind the Candelabra.” He said those and other original shows, coupled with another strong NBA season, helped draw viewers, advertisers and affiliates. As a result, revenue at the division increased 7 percent to $3.84 billion.

“We had about double the number of original hours in prime time this quarter compared to last year and it is paying off,” Bewkes said. Ratings on the company’s prime-time originals more than doubled from the same quarter a year ago, he added.

Bewkes also noted that Time Warner’s TNT and TBS networks ended the quarter as two of the top advertising-supported cable networks for viewers in the 18-49 age range. In addition, ratings at CNN jumped nearly 70 percent among its target audience and HBO viewership remained strong.

 

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