Fancy footwork

15 October 2014 By Jeffrey Goldfarb Follow @jgfarb

After deflecting an $80 bln takeover bid from Fox, Jeff Bewkes is striking a blow to the whole pay-TV business model. Freeing HBO from the cable box was the highlight of Time Warner’s credible new growth plan. Rupert Murdoch and other moguls may be the ones on the defensive now.

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Time Warner said it would launch a stand-alone online streaming service for its HBO cable network in 2015 as part of a blueprint for growth presented to investors on Oct. 15, three months after the company rejected an $80 billion takeover bid from Rupert Murdoch’s Twenty-First Century Fox.

Few details of the so-called “over-the-top” plan were disclosed, but HBO Chief Executive Richard Plepler pointed to 10 million U.S. homes that pay for broadband service without TV included in a bundle.

Jeff Bewkes, Time Warner’s chief executive, and his deputies also laid out plans to invest in more original programming, explore additional digital services and expand overseas.

The company said it is aiming to generate adjusted earnings per share of about $6 by 2016 and $8 by 2018.

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