• by Wayne Friedman , August 2, 2012

Strong advertising sales during the second quarter gave Scripps Networks Interactive -- home of the Food Network and HGTV -- continued double-digit financial results.

For the upcoming 2012-2013 TV year, Scripps said it hit a record $1 billion in upfront revenue for all its networks. 

Second-quarter advertising revenue posted a 12% gain to $417 million, which represents the bulk of Scripps' $601 million in revenues for the period. Those revenues were up 13% for the period. Net income for Scripps grew 57% to $191 million.

Affiliate fee revenue also gained substantially: 16% to some $171 million. Scripps Networks, like many independent and smaller cable network groups, did well -- but pulled in less affiliate revenues as a percentage than other bigger and older cable network groups.

Looking at each cable channel, the Food Network improved 17% to $218 million for all revenues; HGTV gained 8.4% to $205 million; Travel Channel grew 5% to $73.8 million; DIY Network climbed 16% to $34 million; Cooking Channel rocketed 41% to $22 million. Only the Great American Country (GAC) channel witnessed declines, 15% lower to $5 million during the period.

Revenue from the company's digital businesses, which include its network-branded Web sites, added on 3.4% to $28 million.

Scripps said it fared well during the just-completed upfront ad market.

Kenneth Lowe, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Scripps Interactive Network stated that the company set a record this year for "advance advertising sales and reached an important distribution agreement that will make our content easily and widely accessible to millions of consumers on tablets and other mobile platforms."

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