Discovery Communications, whose cable networks include Discovery Channel, TLC and Animal Planet, benefited from solid advertising sales at both its domestic and international networks, showing no ill effects from the grim economy. Revenues from fees it collects from TV distributors also surged.

Overall, Discovery’s third-quarter net income rose to $237 million. That surpassed the $186 million it earned 12 months previous. Revenue increased 18 per cent to $1.1 billion.

Last month, Discovery struck an agreement with Netflix that marked its first major deal to make full episodes of its TV shows available for streaming. Previously, the company hesitated when it came to streaming deals, wary of the threat Web distributors posed to the cable industry.

The company slightly raised its full year outlook for both earnings and revenue. It now sees revenue in a range of $4.175 billion to $4.25 billion, up from a previous range of $4.08 billion to $4.18 billion.

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