Total revenue for the 10 largest stand-alone media, entertainment and communications companies rose to $59.9 billion during the first quarter of 2008, with profit before some costs at $16.7 billion, according to an analysis conducted by independent financial research provider Fresearch.com. A strong demand for digital services, as well as favorable exchange rates and acquisitions, helped to increase revenues by 12% for the companies.

The 16% increase in operating profit to $16.7 billion is attributed to operating efficiencies and currency bumps. Operating profit is defined as profit before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, stock-based compensation and extraordinary items.

Media giant Time Warner topped the list with $11.4 billion in revenue, while Google posted the highest revenue percent change – up 41.5% to $5.2 billion from the same time last year.

"Despite a challenging economic climate in the U.S., these results indicate consumer demand remains strong for premium content and services,” said Fresearch.com founder Steve Wonsiewicz. “While I don’t expect the American economy to turn around any time soon, international growth should continue for the rest of the year, which bodes well for the media, entertainment and communications industries.”

The top 10 media and communications listed in the analysis are Time Warner, News Corp., Walt Disney, Comcast, Google, DirecTV, Dish Network, CBS, Omnicom Group and Viacom.