Time Warner’s efforts to become a pure content company should shield it from further declines in 2009, the media group forecast on Wednesday as it reported a $16bn net loss for the fourth quarter marred by weak advertising revenues and slowing subscriber growth rates.

Its prediction that profits would be flat this year contrasted with a warning this week of declines in Walt Disney’s broadcast TV business and expectations that a newspaper advertising slump and deep declines at local TV stations would affect News Corp’s earnings.