NewsCorp won't pull videos from iTunes

By Chris Borowski

WARSAW (Reuters) - News Corp has no plans to pull its television shows from iTunes like NBC Universal, but echoed the media industry's calls for Apple to offer more flexible pricing, a top executive said in an interview on Tuesday.

Many sector watchers expected News Corp NWSa.N and other media groups to follow NBC Universal, which said last month it would not renew a deal to sell shows on iTunes because it wanted more flexibility in offering different packages and pricing.

But Peter Chernin, News Corp's president and chief operating officer, said Rupert Murdoch's media group was not in a dispute with Apple (AAPL.O), though it would like a bigger voice in pricing its shows.

"Right now we have a perfectly good relationship with Apple," Chernin told Reuters. "But let me say this, we're the ones who should determine what the fair price for our product is, not Apple."

Chernin's decision to keep popular Fox shows such as 24 and Prison Break on iTunes should be welcomed by Apple CEO Steve Jobs, who is facing a growing revolt by some media companies over the pricing policies for audio and video downloads.

Earlier this summer, Vivendi's (VIV.PA) Universal Music Group declined to sign a long-term deal, leaving open the possibility of exclusive deals with another services.

An NBC Universal spokesman said it agreed with Chernin. "Without question, content companies should set the wholesale price for the content they create," he said.

Chernin spoke with Reuters during his visit to Poland, one of Europe's fastest-growing media markets, where News Corp is about to relaunch a television channel in which it has a 35 percent stake and managerial control.