Peter Chernin, who stepped down as president of media conglomerate News Corp. this summer, is back in the spotlight. That didn't take long.
The veteran television and movie studio chief has been a key, behind-the-scenes advisor on cable TV giant Comcast Corp.'s negotiations to take control of NBC Universal. The revelation this week of Chernin's involvement has prompted speculation that the executive could emerge as a powerful player at NBC Universal if Philadelphia-based Comcast succeeds with its bid.
Chernin's new role is intriguing because of his well-known desire to head his own enterprise -- one where he's firmly in charge, no longer the odd man out of a family dynasty or beholden to a headstrong mogul.
The situation also is complicated by Chernin's ongoing relationship with his old boss, Rupert Murdoch. Chernin has spent the last few months forming his own movie and television production studio -- a venture financed by Murdoch's News Corp.
People close to the situation said Chernin's work for Comcast had been casual, amounting to little more than a few days of work assisting in valuations of NBC Universal assets, all businesses that he knows well from two decades as a top entertainment executive.
But at the same time, the job thrusts Chernin into the center of a deal in which his expertise could help shape how Comcast manages NBC Universal and re-engineers its operations in a rapidly shifting digital landscape.
Chernin now stands in the unusual, if not awkward, position of helping to create a stronger competitor to his former longtime employer, to whom he still has financial ties. "It is always a question of can you serve two masters?" said corporate governance expert Charles Elson at the University of Delaware. The issue will be, Elson said, "What do the folks at Fox think about this?"
News Corp. declined to comment.
Chernin has latitude to freelance because he no longer is an officer at News Corp. and is exempt from a fiduciary duty to shareholders. However, because of Chernin's production deal at News Corp.'s 20th Century Fox unit, the situation could become thorny. His six-year contract requires Fox to pay his firm's overhead and greenlight at least two movies a year. Fox also has first crack at any TV shows he produces.
Chernin also continues to enjoy an office on the Fox lot and the use of a driver and the News Corp. jet.
