UPDATE 2-Discovery profit rises, helped by U.S. TV ratings

*Adj Q2 EPS $0.36 vs. Street view $0.32

*Q2 rev $881 mln vs Street view $879.4 mln

*U.S. TV ratings, international subscribers boost earnings

*Shares down 1.9 pct, but up more than 70 pct this year (Adds CEO comments, share price, byline)

By Paul Thomasch

NEW YORK, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Discovery Communications Inc (DISCA.O) posted a stronger second-quarter profit on Tuesday, surpassing expectations and bucking broader media industry trends, thanks to higher ratings at its U.S. cable networks and the addition of more international TV subscribers.

Discovery's jump in profit is a rarity for a quarter in which results at Viacom IncVIAb.N, Time Warner (TWX.N), and Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) have all been undercut by the severe downturn in advertising spending over the past year.

But Discovery, which is typically less reliant on some of the hardest hit U.S. ad categories, auto and finance among them, saw its revenue dip only slightly and profit actually rose significantly.

The parent of the Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and the Science Channel, said second-quarter profit rose to $183 million, or 43 cents a share, from $43 million, or 16 cents a share, a year earlier. The latest results include a $46 million tax gain from the partial sale of the Discovery Kids channel.

Adjusted earnings of 36 cents a share beat the consensus estimate of 32 cents a share, according to Reuters Estimates. Discovery's revenue of $881 million, down from $885 million a year ago, also surpassed expectations.

Chief Executive David Zaslav credited higher ratings for shows like "River Monsters," "Whale Wars," "Jon & Kate Plus 8," and "Deadliest Catch" for the stronger quarterly performance.

But Discovery predicted advertising would remain "uneven" for the rest of the year, and Zaslav said that marketers often wait until the last minute to buy commercials.

In the current upfront market -- when cable and broadcast networks usually sell the bulk of their commercial time for the upcoming TV season -- he said the company would likely hold back on signing deals in hopes of better prices down the road.

"In general, we anticipate lower absolute levels of commitment than in the prior year, and we plan on selling less inventory than in years past," he said on a conference call.

But Discovery is less dependent on advertising for revenue stream than some of its competitors in media -- like CBS Corp. (CBS.N) -- because of the distribution fees it collects for its cable channels. Distribution revenue were up 5 percent for the quarter.

Discovery largely maintained its full-year outlook, though it raised its target for net income to $500 million to $600 million to reflect the Discovery Kids tax gain.

Shares of Discovery slipped 49 cents to $24.90 after the earnings, but are still up more than 70 percent this year, making it one of the best performing media stocks. (Reporting by Paul Thomasch, editing by Maureen Bavdek and Derek Caney)