By Nat Worden
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Time Warner Inc. (TWX) Chief Executive Jeff Bewkes said Tuesday a takeover of NBC Universal by Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) would benefit the cable television industry.
Comcast's ownership would make NBCU "reasonably progressive about the future on content" and help make its broadcast businesses "more viable," Bewkes said at a media conference in New York City.
Bewkes reiterated that his own company has no interest in a deal for NBCU, citing the poor track record of big mergers and acquisitions in the media business.
"We love to see our competitors taking risks," Bewkes said.
Bewkes has spearheaded an industry-wide push to put cable programming on the Internet behind subscription walls in order to preserve the cable industry's TV subscription model.
Broadcasters like NBCU, who get little benefit from subscription revenue, have complicated that effort by putting premium programming online for free on popular video sites like Hulu, in which Comcast could gain a stake in a deal for NBCU.
-By Nat Worden, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2472; nat.worden@dowjones.com