Cut To The Chase

"In all honesty, it's probably PR and marketing we couldn't have bought. I don't think the administration actually will conduct itself in a vindictive way. They're running a government for the people.  I do think Fox is quite comfortable where it is, and I think we try to present an honest and insightful evaluation and presentation of the issues from both sides. Clearly, it struck a raw nerve in some places, but I think we are comfortable with it. We're not trying to pick a fight, [just] present an honest and, in Roger [Ailes'] terms, fair and balanced view of the issues. But we're comfortable where we are."   Rupert Murdoch's new right hand dude Chase Carey (replaced Peter Chernin) in a Q&A to B&C's Ben Grossman.

On the NBC/Comcast deal:

Ben: Is News Corp. interested in being part of any deal to acquire NBC Universal?

Chase: Anytime you have something of this size and scale going on, you're not doing your job if you're not thinking about it. [But] I don't think it is something we are actively engaged in.

Ben: So do you think the Comcast-GE deal gets done?

Chase: Neither one's denying much right now. I think there's a decent chance it will come to fruition. This is a deal that makes sense for GE today, and there seem to be reasons for both sides.

Ben: So is this a good deal for Comcast?

Chase: I think [NBC Universal has] great assets, a unique set of assets. The cable channels are obviously the heart of it. They are run really nicely. A group of channels like that doesn't come along very often. It is a truly unique set of businesses, and something that clearly caught the interest of Comcast.