Investor Conference

News Corp’s Peter Chernin said the company continues to be interested in investing in cable net startups or cable acquisitions in the US and abroad. As for new nets, he expects Fox Reality Channel to launch in May or June. The much-talked about business news net is next on the docket, with Chernin hoping it will launch in the 2nd half of the year with about 20mln subs. "Beyond that, we’ve given very preliminary thought to a [national] sports channel," he said. "Nothing more than some conversations." — Chernin said it was an "overstatement" to say negotiations have been going on with Liberty over its recently raised News Corp voting stake. He said News felt comfortable with situation because of the poison pill it put in place. — Late Tues, Viacom’s Sumner Redstone mentioned acquisitions in cable, Internet and the video game arena as possibilities (Disney and News Corp also expressed interest in video games at the conference). Viacom would be willing to leverage for cable nets or stock buybacks, Redstone said. He didn’t detail what cable nets Viacom has its eye on, only saying the company’s interested in any "good" net within its price range.