NBC’s Zucker: Mobile not that Important

From the “we can’t believe he really said that” file comes a comment from NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker. Regarding making content available to mobile phones, Zucker told an audience at the World Economic Forum, “It’s actually not that important. We’re obviously playing in this world, but playing in a small way,” according to an account in the Hollywood Reporter.

During his talk, which was part of a discussion titled “The Future of Mobile Technology,” Zucker reportedly complained about how little incentive – and money – wireless operators give media companies for making their content mobile. He said that once consumers start demanding the content, “they’ll demand a better experience. And it will force both of us to figure out the economics around who gets how much.”

Other panelists included FCC chairman Kevin Martin, Google CEO Eric Schmidt and Sony CEO Howard Stringer.

One of the most telling comments may have come from Fortune senior editor David Kirkpatrick, who moderated the session. After Zucker said that NBC is planning to provide more than 2,000 hours of wireless coverage of the Summer Olympics in Beijing, Kirkpatrick noted, “That’s pretty amazing from a company that doesn’t consider wireless very important in the near-term,” the report said.

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