• by David Goetzl , June 2, 2008

Declining to offer his take on whether the CW should be shuttered or sold, Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes acknowledged that there are legitimate questions about the network's future.

Asked at an industry event Friday whether abandoning the venture made sense, Bewkes said that would be "dangerous to answer." An in-depth response, he said, would create unwanted headlines and be unfair to CBS, Time Warner's co-owner.

But he added: "If there's not a good return on it, then we shouldn't do it."

Bewkes did say that through the Warner Bros. studio, "we are making a fair amount of money ... making and selling shows" to the network, as profits come via owning syndication rights. He cited buzz-generator "Gossip Girl," which is too early in its life cycle to be sold in syndication, but has a promising future.

Even if it's not a profit generator by itself, the CW provides Warner Bros. with an additional outlet for programming that it can re-sell. It also supplies CBS with a network for a group of large-market stations it owns. (CBS is a program supplier, too.)

In contrast to the CW, Time Warner's Turner cable networks are strong performers, Bewkes said. The scatter market there slowed three weeks ago, due to a "temporary flatness." But it has recently picked up to the robust levels of the spring, he said.

"Right now, we're feeling very good about our cable-network advertising for this year and just in the general long term," he said. "That's really one of the sources of strength for us."

While cable remains solid, Bewkes said recessionary conditions are leading to a flatness at Time Inc.--in particular, at Fortune and Time, which rely on the troubled technology, financial and auto categories for revenues.