Yahoo White Knights: NewsCorp Says No, Time-Warner Says Maybe

In separate addresses at the Bear Stearns Media Conference in Palm Beach, FL, News Corporation CEO Rupert Murdoch said he didn't want to go up against Microsoft, while Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes declined to rule out a possible AOL-Yahoo partnership.News Corp had been mentioned as a possible savior for Yahoo, but Murdoch threw cold water on the speculation. "It would be fun to beat Microsoft," he said. But "we're not going to get into a fight with Microsoft. They've got a lot more money than us." He acknowledged the attraction of a possible alliance between the two compani--"I think that some deal would have been nice," he said--but focused on the competition from Microsoft. "It's not that they wouldn't do something," said Martin Pyykkonen, a Global Crown Capital analyst who covers News Corp and Yahoo. "It's just that he said he's not going to chase them or get in a bidding war with Microsoft over Yahoo."

Bewkes, on the other hand, declined to rule out a move that would make AOL "stronger." He acknowledged that a Microsoft-Yahoo combination would present a formidable rival for AOL, but said it would also "verify the value" of AOL's "Platform A," which allows advertisers to buy ads across AOL's ad network, including Advertising.com. SiliconValley.com, CNET News