UPDATE 1-Time Warner CEO says TV having second golden age

* CEO urges programme makers not to sell themselves short

* Says TV advertising market continues to grow strongly

* Targets 70 million TV Everywhere users in a year (Adds CEO comments to Reuters)

By Georgina Prodhan

LONDON, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Media conglomerate Time Warner's (TWX.N) chief executive said television was enjoying a second golden age and rejected the notion that innovation had passed into the hands of technology companies like Google (GOOG.O).

Jeff Bewkes said the number of television viewers was growing, paid-television penetration was increasing and advertising and subscription revenues were up. He urged the industry not to undervalue its content when making deals for digital distribution.

"We've been attracting some company lately -- companies like Apple (AAPL.O), Amazon (AMZN.O), Google, Sony (6758.T), the list goes on and on," Bewkes said in a speech to Britain's Royal Television Society in London on Tuesday.

"These new entrants must meet a few criteria: They must provide consumers with a superior TV experience, and they must either support or improve the overall economics that funds and creates the programming in the first place."

Time Warner raised its full-year outlook last month after quarterly revenue grew at the fastest pace in two years, thanks to a surge in advertising sales at its cable networks and strong turnouts for movies like "Clash of the Titans".

Bewkes told Reuters in an interview the TV advertising market continued to grow, with Time Warner leading the market.

"It's continuing to rebound faster than most sectors," Bewkes said. "Our networks are at the top in terms of advertising growth."

Bewkes cautioned against selling new, premium programmes too cheaply. Apple and Amazon have recently secured deals to sell downloads of hit series like Glee, made by News Corp's (NWSA.O) Fox TV, for $0.99 an episode.

Time Warner's HBO network has produced television series that have been sold around the world including The Sopranos and Sex and the City. The group also includes the Warner Bros movie studio and the CNN cable news network.

"How can you justify renting your first-run TV shows individually for 99 cents an episode and thereby jeopardise the sale of the same shows as a series to branded networks that pay hundreds of millions of dollars and make those shows available to loyal viewers for free?" he asked.

He told Reuters that Time Warner had no plans to follow suit, and was concentrating on its TV Everywhere offering, which offers programmes on demand on any device to those who already pay for the service in their home.

In a bid to prevent Internet companies from seizing control of content distribution, Time Warner is gathering partners including Verizon (VZ.N) and Comcast (CMCSA.O) to offer its content on any platform at no extra cost to subscribers.

The service is currently in about 20 million homes, and Bewkes said he expected to have 70 million U.S. households by this time next year.

"Every single cable, satellite and telephony company is signed up to deliver this," he said.

(Reporting by Georgina Prodhan; editing by Elaine Hardcastle and Erica Billingham)