Media companies’ second quarter earnings so far have confirmed what most industry executives said would happen: the upfronts were a big improvement over the past few years.  Despite the dismal environment, with cord-cutting rising and ad-free streaming services growing, networks touted that they secured nice upticks in spending commitments for the upcoming TV season.  At 21st Century Fox Inc., FOX -0.95 % channel-carriage fees from pay TV providers played a big role in boosting revenue, but the company also highlighted a 9% jump in domestic advertising revenue over the prior-year period.  “As for the upfronts, we couldn’t be happier with the strength of the upfronts. We’ve now fundamentally completed them all. It’s been the strongest upfront we’ve had in years,” said Lachlan Murdoch, executive chairman of 21st Century Fox. Overall, with higher expenses, Fox’s results were mixed.  Time Warner Inc. TWX -0.13 % reported that Turner’s advertising revenue increased 6% thanks to a boost from its news business and the 2016 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball National Championship.  “Demand in the upfront was particularly strong for CNN, which has undergone nothing short of a renaissance over the past few years,” Chief Executive Jeff Bewkes said on an analyst conference call. Results at Warner Bros. were a drag on Time Warner’s overall numbers.  Meanwhile at Discovery Communications Inc., DISCK -0.51 % which includes its namesake station, Animal Planet, TLC and OWN Network, advertising revenues rose 5.4% in the second quarter.  “While our international advertising growth has recently been slowed by unusual market factors, such as Brexit, we booked very strong U.S. upfront ad volume,” Chief Financial Officer Andy Warren said on a conference call.  Viacom Inc., VIA -2.36 % where programming at channels like VH1 and Nickelodeon rely on younger audiences, is still facing challenges in the disruptive industry.  Domestic advertising revenue at Viacom decreased 4%, as pricing increases were offset by softer ratings at some of its networks, the company said. Meanwhile, its international advertising revenues increased 13%, driven by growth in Europe. Still, Viacom Chief Executive Philippe Dauman touted the strong sales made in the upfront.  The reasons for the good upfront season have been well-explored: a big one was that advertisers felt remorse for going light on the upfronts last year only to pay steep prices for ads in the “scatter” market later.  But the celebration may be cut short heading into the September quarter as the Olympics, which are being aired by Comcast Corp. CMCSA -0.84 % ’s NBCUniversal, take away viewers from other networks.  “I think on the quarter that we’re in, because of the Olympics, I think we’ll have a little bit worse performance than we had in this quarter,” Viacom CFO Wade Davis said.  Time Warner said it’s expecting advertising growth revenue to be in the low single digits in the third quarter. Time Warner Chief Financial Officer Howard Averill said the company will air significantly fewer hours of original programming across its entertainment networks “and that’s partially an effort to stay out of the way of this year’s Summer Olympics.”  Discovery said there’s macroeconomic uncertainties faced with Brexit -- the company has a large international business -- but it’s preparing for competition with the games.  “The Olympics, as they always do, suck advertising dollars out of that market,” Mr. Warren said.  Write to Cassandra Jaramillo at cassandra.jaramillo@wsj.com
Second quarter earnings results from media companies confirmed that the upfronts were strong, but highlighted concerns about competing with the Olympics.