• by Wayne Friedman , May 10, 2011

Strong TV advertising and affiliate revenues pushed up better financials for Walt Disney's TV networks -- but poor movie and home entertainment performance resulted in a lackluster fiscal second quarter.

Disney's cable networks grew 15% in operating income to $1.4 billion, with revenue climbing 17% to $2.8 billion. Disney's ABC Television Network and stations unit moved up 36% in operating income to $167 million; revenue climbed 4% to $1.5 billion.

Advertising sales at Disney's cable networks were strong at ESPN, especially for its Bowl Championship Series in January. At ESPN, ABC Family and other Disney Channels, the company benefited from higher advertising rates.

Similarly at the ABC Television Network and the ABC TV stations, advertising revenues posted gains. ABC TV Network witnessed advertising improvements in prime time and news programming.

But Disney's theatrical and home-video business suffered -- as have many film studios. Disney dropped 13% in revenue to $1.3 billion for the period; operating income sank a big 65% to $77 million. The studio says it took a major writedown for the big theatrical flop "Mars Needs Moms."

Disney also had poor comparisons to its previous second fiscal quarter, where home entertainment titles -- "Toy Story," "Toy Story 2" and "Alice In Wonderland" -- did well.

Disney's Parks and Resorts had a mixed picture. Revenues were 7% higher to $2.6 billion, with operating income dipping 3% to $145 million. The earthquake and tsunami in Japan temporarily shut down Tokyo Disney Resort.

Consumer products grew 5% to $626 million in revenue -- with operating income up 7% to $142 million, thanks to "Toy Story" and "Tangled" merchandise gains. Interactive revenues grew 3% to $159 million. But its operating loss widened to $115 million from a loss of $55 million for the same period a year ago. Development costs and other expenses at its new Playdom acquisition were to blame.

Overall, Walt Disney revenue grew 6% to $9.1 billion with operating income up 1% to $1.8 billion. Net income slipped 1% to $942 million.