• The Hollywood Reporter, Tuesday, October 30, 2007 10 AM

NBC chief Jeff Zucker is shrugging off Fox Business Network's chances of competing with CNBC as the battle between the two cable nets begins in earnest. "We seem to be doing two different things," he says. "CNBC is a serious financial news network. From what we've seen from Fox, it's not as investor-focused, not as financially focused." And Zucker basically dismisses the idea there are any financial implications of the launch of FBN. "From a business standpoint it's had no impact."

His comments come two weeks after FBN rolled out. with Fox News head Roger Ailes saying the new channel is aiming for "a revolution" in the space. To date, FBN has cut into CNBC ratings a bit, with the latter's numbers down slightly. Zucker also chuckles at the notion that FBN will take a more "pro-business" stance than CNBC. "I think it's clear what they're trying to do there. It's right out of the Fox playbook," he says. "They're trying to disparage the competitor."

Read the whole story at The Hollywood Reporter »