• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, November 8, 2007

The Super Bowl could be sold out by Thanksgiving, though it's likely Fox will keep several spots free in hopes of extracting premium ad prices in the days before the Feb. 3 telecast, News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch said Wednesday during an earnings call with Wall Street analysts. He confirmed Fox has already sold 95% of its ad inventory for the Big Game and is fetching as much as $2.7 million for some spots - a new Super Bowl record.

Though few advertisers pay the ceiling price bandied about every year. Networks routinely float an asking price that's $100,000 above the year before, perhaps to make some buyers feel as if they got a good deal; last year, $2.6 million was reported, $2.5 million the year before.

During the call, News Corp. executives also addressed implications for the TV writer's strike, suggesting News Corp., at least, would thrive in spite of it.

"My guess is that during fiscal '08, a strike is probably a positive for the company," News Corp. COO Peter Chernin asserted.

He said the company would save money on shooting pilots and in other areas that would offset any loss in advertising from a dearth in original programming. Of course, Chernin may have been using the call as an opportunity to ratchet up the pressure on the striking writers.

He did allow that if the strike continues for more than eight months than it could significantly impact revenues.

If no pilots are made, Chernin did not speak to what Fox would do as far as developing new shows for next fall. But he was bullish on Fox's prospects going past the New Year.

With the strike-proof "American Idol" and other reality series - and animated series shot a year in advance - he said Fox is "better positioned for a strike than any of our colleagues."

"We believe it would cause a significant growth in market share on the Fox Broadcasting Network," he said.

News Corp.'s results for the just-completed quarter showed operating income up 23% to $1.05 billion, but the television segment was down 5% to $183 million, with weakness at the Fox owned-and-operates stations and the money-losing MyNetworkTV. Cable networks, however, continued to grow, up 16% to $289 million.

Overall company revenues were up 19% to $7.1 billion.