Saucy television soap opera "Desperate Housewives" has boosted ratings at the ABC network and helped corporate parent The Walt Disney Co. to report sharply higher third-quarter profits Tuesday.

The media conglomerate reported net income of $851 million, or 41 cents a share, compared with $604 million, or 29 cents a share in the same period last year. Revenue increased to $7.72 billion compared with $7.47 billion in the third quarter last year.

The company said that income and earnings from its movie studio were down. Disney cinema revenue dropped some 15 percent to $1.5 billion, and profits went from $62 million to a loss of $34 million.

But the shortfall was more than made up for by an increase in operating income from television channels of $325 million, or 48 percent. This was due largely to popular shows like "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost", and higher ad rates paid by cable operators for ESPN sports channels.

Operating income at Disney's theme parks and resorts division grew six percent due to increased attendance at the company's two major US theme parks.