• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, September 21, 2011

News Corp. COO Chase Carey said the company has "no immediate plans" for a Simpsons cable channel, despite reports to the contrary, which he attributed to the need of daily newspapers to fill space.

But Carey didn't rule out a possible channel dedicated to Simpsons content either. "There are a lot of Simpsons fans out there," he noted, indicating that the company is considering what to do with the series library after the current syndication runs its course.

"We think there is a bigger opportunity than just a second syndication cycle," he said. "We have an opportunity to do something truly unique."

Carey, speaking at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia Conference took a second swipe at the press when the subject of the cell phone hacking scandal came up, saying that the media coverage "at times has been surreal around it."

He said the company was "cooperating fully" with the governmental investigations looking into the scandal both in the UK and the U.S., where questions have been raised as to whether the hacking of phones of any 911 victims occurred. "We're cooperating fully and I'm confident that the truth will come out," and appropriate steps will be taken once the investigations are complete, he said.