At News Corp., content remains king, said President and CEO Peter Chernin.
Chernin, who spoke Wednesday at Citigroup Smith Barney's media conference in Phoenix, said there's "clearly more interest" at the company in gaining more content, whether it's investing in a programming start-up or acquiring additional cable/satellite programmers.
The executive also highlighted plans to launch new channels. Fox Reality Channel will launch in the May/June timeframe, Chernin said, and it's expected the network will debut among more than 20 million viewers, most of which could be with DirecTV. News Corp. controls DirecTV.
News Corp. and Fox also are working on a business channel that could launch during the second half of the year, Chernin said. He added that the company has given some thought to working on a national sports channel, but stressed that the plans are only preliminary and could fall through once the company is done studying the proposed channel's potential.
Also during his talk, Chernin said News Corp. is a big fan of DVRs, especially given their impact on the DirecTV business. He said the company could become "the largest supplier of DVRs in the country through DirecTV."
DVRs provide a terrific platform for delivering content, Chernin said, and can compete effectively with video-on-demand offerings from cable. DVRs are being used already for differentiated programming, such as NFL highlights sent to DVRs used by DirecTV customers. And customized programming can be offered to consumers, whether it's a download of a viewer's favorite team or outtakes from American Idol, he said.
http://www.skyreport.com
Chernin, who spoke Wednesday at Citigroup Smith Barney's media conference in Phoenix, said there's "clearly more interest" at the company in gaining more content, whether it's investing in a programming start-up or acquiring additional cable/satellite programmers.
The executive also highlighted plans to launch new channels. Fox Reality Channel will launch in the May/June timeframe, Chernin said, and it's expected the network will debut among more than 20 million viewers, most of which could be with DirecTV. News Corp. controls DirecTV.
News Corp. and Fox also are working on a business channel that could launch during the second half of the year, Chernin said. He added that the company has given some thought to working on a national sports channel, but stressed that the plans are only preliminary and could fall through once the company is done studying the proposed channel's potential.
Also during his talk, Chernin said News Corp. is a big fan of DVRs, especially given their impact on the DirecTV business. He said the company could become "the largest supplier of DVRs in the country through DirecTV."
DVRs provide a terrific platform for delivering content, Chernin said, and can compete effectively with video-on-demand offerings from cable. DVRs are being used already for differentiated programming, such as NFL highlights sent to DVRs used by DirecTV customers. And customized programming can be offered to consumers, whether it's a download of a viewer's favorite team or outtakes from American Idol, he said.
http://www.skyreport.com
