'CSI' Puts Alliance Atlantis In The Black

Alliance Atlantis Communications posted a 33 percent gain in advertising revenue for the quarter ending on June 30th, 2004, thanks in large part to the CSI franchise.

According to Yahoo!, the CSI shows pulled in a whopping 61 percent of the Entertainment division's revenue during the second quarter. The shows were also responsible for 60 percent of the second quarter's gross profit.

The debut of CSI: New York was a big boon for Alliance Atlantis. The second spinoff of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation will air on CBS in the U.S. in the fall, and on Canada's CTV. Foreign rights for the show were sold to Australia, France, Germany, Spain, and the U.K. Sales of CSI and CSI: Miami internationally continue to grow.

The Star reports that overall Alliance Atlantis's revenue was up to $267.6 million from $159.7 million, a net gain of 67 percent.

The company also posted major gains from the same time the year before. The quarterly profit of $10.4 million was a far cry from the loss of $7.1 last year, while the earnings for the quarter came out to 33 cents a share, as opposed to the loss of 17 cents per share this time last year.

According to Michael MacMillan, Alliance Atlantis's chairman and chief executive, the company is focusing on its broadcasting assets, such as the CSI franchise. "Alliance Atlantis is now well along the road to becoming truly a broadcast-driven company," he said.

The original reports can be found Yahoo! and The Star.

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