Newco: "This is Obviously Not a YouTube Killer"



Once again Staci D. Kramer of Paidcontent is on top of the conference call with News Corp. COO Peter Chernin and NBCU CEO Jeff Zucker from the Fox lot today. The nebulous rumors have cleared up somewhat. As the LATimes reports today, the NBCU and Fox joint venture should start at the end of the summer. Some of the conversation via Paidcontent:

"(Chernin on YouTube): 'This is obviously not a YouTube killer. It it were .. we’d obviously have a standalone site ... We’re obviously willing to meet with anybody' who meets business and copyright requirements. They have already talked to Google/YouTube this morning.

"Zucker: 'We are open for business with everyone.'"

Well, thus far not everyone. One of the intriguing parts of this equation was would Fox be willing to put up clips from "American Idol," the most successful show on tv:

"... Chernin said American Idol is not on the table for the new venture; Fox doesn’t control the web rights."

But:

"... Chernin and Zucker said all the content providers will be treated the same. Zucker said the company will have independent management. Chernin: 'You’re not going to see us push NBC or Fox ahead of anyone else.'

"Why now? Zucker: 'It couldn't have fallen apart because it didn’t exist.' They said what really brought it together—as reported earlier—was the distribution partners."

"Chernin:'It would be a mistake to assume it was a reaction to Viacom lawsuit.'"

No, but that billion dollar lawsuit had to have some effect on the timing of this announcement, considering it has been rumored for 4 months. For the full story from Staci D. Kramer here (Paidcontent)

Also: LAT

WSJ