Quotes from the Media Summit

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Here is a selection of quotes from executives at the Reuters Media Summit in New York this week:

TIME WARNER CABLE (TWC.N) CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER ROB

MARCUS

"I think anybody who tells you that they know what 2009 is going to look like, is probably telling you a story."

"You have probably heard every company who has spoken over the last probably two and a half, three months say their crystal ball is not working very effectively right now. It is very hard to forecast."

On the NFL network, which is not carried by Time Warner Cable:

"This is a network that's essentially based on eight football games and San Diego Charger cheerleader tryouts. There's not a lot else on there."

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT ERIC

GRUBMAN

"We are a giant platform, a giant billboard. That giantness is real strength. Anybody who is either experiencing opportunity in this market or experiencing new competition and needs to set themselves apart, there's very few places to turn from the standpoint of the advertising model and they have very few places to turn that are very reliable on the sponsorship model. I like our chances in this market. That's a relative comment, not an absolute comment."

"In this environment where advertisers are feeling strained in their own budgets, that will show up on the P&L of our business partners. We are insulated from it in the short to medium term because of our television contracts. Nonetheless our partners are feeling it. Other partners are paying us sponsorship dollars and in an environment where everybody is looking to cut money, sponsorship is an easy place to cut."

HAVAS'S (EURC.PA) MPG CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER STEVE

LANZANO

On the big four U.S. television networks:

Fox "continues to drive toward a much younger viewer and they continue to provide programing there. American Idol is just a runaway hit...Clearly they have these must-see shows that they have been able to promote and they can promote it within their sports, especially their NFL during the season. So if they keep coming up with those type of shows -- they are a little bit more edgy -- I think they will continue to do okay because they will have a much younger viewer."

"CBS has been able to come up with some comedies and dramas that continue to work...They've been able to lower their age a little bit. I think if they continue to do that, they will be okay. They will still be the largest -- probably still be number one in terms of total viewership and probably pretty close in terms of 18 to 49 and 25 to 54."

"NBC, you know they have been fortunate because Sarah Palin became vice president candidate so they've been able to play off of that. So I think it has helped with 30 Rock and some of their other shows; clearly helped with Saturday Night Live. The question is what is going to happen with Leno when he goes off the air and how that plays because Conan is a little different. He doesn't play to everybody. Is he going to be able to maintain the kind of audience that Leno has built? I think that is a really, really big question. I think Jimmy Fallon will probably be great late-night."

NEWS CORP'S NWSa.N MYSPACE CHIEF EXECUTIVE CHRIS DEWOLFE

On the impact of economy on Web companies:

"We're already seeing the effects of the economic slowdown where there are companies out there that were worth $200-300 million that are running out of money and ready to sell themselves for $20 million or $25 million."

"At the lower levels the money dries up, everyone's looking for some kind of exit and the valuations we're seeing out there are definitely a small, small fraction of what they were even five or six months ago."

CENTRAL EUROPEAN MEDIA ENTERPRISES (CETV.O) CEO MICHAEL GARIN

On mergers and acquisitions:

"In the current environment, I just don't see any opportunities that we'd be prepared to do right now. Equity is too expensive to raise, debt is impossible to obtain."

"In a time like this, my mission is to really ensure the long-term financial health of the company and M&A is not the route to achieve that."

(For summit blog: summitnotebook.reuters.com/)

(Compiled by Tiffany Wu; Editing by Derek Caney)