Discovery Communications expects Oprah Winfrey’s cable channel to be profitable in its first year, well ahead of schedule.
The network, a joint venture between Discovery and Winfrey, debuted on Saturday to respectable ratings. Brad Singer, Discovery's chief financial officer, said at an investors’ conference Tuesday that OWN should be “Ebitda positive” in 2011 “because of ad acceptance and good performance,” The New York Times reported.
Ebitda stands for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, and is a standard measure of operating profitability.
Discovery had previously said it expected to turn a profit before 2012 or 2013.
