-By Anthony Crupi, Mediaweek

NEW YORK Jeff Bewkes has decided to jettison Time Warner Cable from the corporate mother ship, telling investors Wednesday that Time Warner would completely spin off its cable operation, in which it has an 84 percent stake.

The widely anticipated move to spin off Time Warner Cable was announced as the media conglomerate reported its first-quarter earnings.

"We've decided that a complete structural separation of Time Warner Cable, under the right circumstances, is in the best interests of both companies' shareholders," the Time Warner CEO said by way of announcing the move. "We're working hard on an agreement with Time Warner Cable, which we expect to finalize soon."

In a separate call Tuesday morning, Time Warner Cable president and CEO Glenn Britt was unable to provide any further details about the split.

Revenue at the cable unit grew 8 percent versus the first quarter of 2007, to $4.16 billion, beating Wall Street estimates of $4.15 billion. Subscription revenue was up 8 percent during the period ($4 billion), while advertising revenue grew 4 percent to $197 million.

At the cable networks division -- a collection of premium and ad-supported nets that includes HBO, TNT, TBS and CNN -- profit ticked up 1.6 percent on a revenue increase of 10 percent ($2.66 billion). The Time Warner nets got a lift from a strong scatter market, as ad sales revenue was up 13 percent during the quarter. Subscription revenue grew thanks to higher rates at the Turner nets and HBO.

Time Warner does not break out ad sales and subscription revenues by segment.

Elsewhere, the America Online division continues to struggle, with revenue dropping 23 percent to $1.1 billion on the quarter. Thus far, the free ad-supported model has failed to catch fire; the 1 percent increase, or $3 million, AOL brought in as ad sales revenue did little to offset the $334 million it lost as subscription revenue fell 38 percent.

Revenue at Time Inc. remained flat at just under $1.05 billion, although its adjusted OIBDA went up 73 percent, to $145 million, thanks in part to Time Warner's decision to fold Life magazine and Business 2.0 a year ago, as well as lower restructuring charges in the quarter. Ad sales fell 1 percent.