GE, Time Warner Deny Murdoch Report on NBC

News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch, in an interview on his company’s Fox News Network, said it was his understanding that General Electric Co. had offered its NBC network to Time Warner Inc. for $25 billion. He said that “one or two well-known people on the board are very much in favor of buying it and the rest are very much opposed.”

Time Warner and GE denied Murdoch’s statement. NBC, the only broadcast network not attached to a major studio, declined to comment.

Many media analysts regard Time Warner and NBC as a natural pairing, although their combination could pose regulatory problems. Current law restricts the ownership of cable systems and broadcast stations in the same markets.

Time Warner Vice Chairman Ted Turner has long sought a major broadcast network to add to the cable properties such as CNN and TBS that his company controls.

But Time Warner Chairman Gerald Levin has said in the past that he was not interested in making any big acquisitions. The company has spent the last couple of years paying down its debt, which ballooned after it bought several cable-TV systems and Turner Broadcasting.

New York-based Time Warner owns 75% of the WB network and cable channels including CNN, TBS and HBO. It also owns major publishing and music businesses and the Warner Bros. film and TV studio.