Cable and AOL boost Time Warner

AOL, part of Time Warner, saw profits up 27%

Growth in its cable television business and at AOL helped media conglomerate Time Warner beat expectations in the first quarter of 2007.

The firm saw overall profits slip 18%, but AOL's move to rely on advertising rather than subscriptions helped bolster its bottom line.

Time Warner's profit from cable TV rose by 54% as it signed up more customers to premium services.

Shares in the firm rose about 2% on news of the results.

AOL has scrapped subscriptions on email and other services so as to attract users, but a a 40% increase in ad revenue in the period has offset much of the lost subscription income.

Last year Time Warner restructured AOL to make it more profitable, eliminating 5,000 jobs, and then spinning off the UK arm in October.

It bought Adelphia at the start of 2006, establishing itself as the second-largest US cable operator, with strongholds in New York and Los Angeles.