Bewkes: Comcast, NBC Merger Is 'Bet On Content'

Even as Jeff Bewkes oversaw the separation of Time Warner and Time Warner Cable, he said that Comcast combining its cable business with NBC Universal is a similar maneuver.

Bewkes said by splitting Time Warner off from the cable operator, the importance of its content could be better evaluated. "It's actually the same thinking because in both cases, it's a bet on content," said Bewkes, Time Warner CEO, at an investor event. "We thought that the value of content would be clear by making that separation, and I think it has -- the market [has] borne that out. The Comcast cable corporation thought that the media business -- networks and production and NBC -- was a very attractive business, and they wanted to participate."