Big media seek 21st century business models

* Media companies uncertain of new business model

* Concerns about the challenge of free vs paid content

* Big deals unlikely at Sun Valley this year

* Execs reworking dual-revenue model for Web

By Yinka Adegoke

SUN VALLEY, Idaho July 10 (Reuters) - Media moguls at this week's Sun Valley conference have spent as much time discussing how to reconfigure business models disrupted by the Web as they have worrying about the weak economy.

With difficult credit markets and an unclear future, talk of dealmaking has been at a minimum this year. Yet there has never been a more important time for media conglomerates and their financiers to act and adapt to the Internet age.

The mood at the conference was described as "somber" and "very bearish" by executives. While the recession was a key reason, the other was the uncertainty over how future profits can be made from distributing news and entertainment online and across devices like smartphones. [ID:nN09471962]

"We're not using long-form content on the Web because it's not clear to us that's the way people want to consume content, said David Zaslav, chief executive of Discovery Communications Inc (DISCA.O), which owns the Discovery Channel.