Far away from prying television cameras, News Corp (NYSE: NWS) Chief Executive Rupert Murdoch and NFL honcho Roger Goodell probably hooted and jumped for joy when the New York Giants and New England Patriots made it into the Super Bowl. Maybe they made "ka-ching!" noises or exchanged high-fives with their underlings.

They couldn't have asked for a better outcome if they had scripted it. There are so many compelling story lines, including whether the Patriots will be the first undefeated NFL team in more than 30 years. The New York -- as in the top media market -- Giants are no slouch for drama either. Who would have thought that Indianapolis Colts quarterback and ubiquitous pitchman Peyton Manning would be watching brother Eli lead the Giants in the sports spectacle to end all sports spectacles.

All this is a huge plus for News Corp's Fox network. A San Diego-Green Bay game --- which would have been great --- wouldn't have drawn the ratings the network needed to meet its guarantees to advertisers. TV commercials are sold based on ratings guarantees. When the programs don't meet the targets, the networks have to "make good" by giving away commercial time on other programs.

The one problem for Fox may be the Super Bowl game itself, which have at times been blowouts. This one won't be much different. Sorry Giants fans, the Patriots are going to go undefeated. News Corp shareholders are probably hoping that the game is at least interesting enough for people to watch the $1 million commercials.