Newsday reports that Cablevision is near a deal with Tribune to buy...Newsday! The Bethpage-based company had bid $650 million, $70 million more than bids from both News Corp. and the Daily News owner Mortimer Zuckerman.
It was widely believed that News Corp. would be able to close the deal. Tirbune and News Corp. seemed to an informal deal, and even after Cablevision's much higher bid, News Corp owner Rupert Murdoch told investors and analysts he was confident, “Just be patient for a couple of days.” And according to the president of the union representing many Newsday employees, the Post's union officials were reassured on Friday that News Corp. would prevail in the deal.
It's unclear whether Zuckerman will raise his bid for Newsday--many believe he matched Murdoch's bid in order to stay competitive.
Cablevision's ownership of Newsday could make sense, given the cable company's 3.1 million subscribers, though it does not own a newspaper and wouldn't achieve any printing efficiencies, the way News Corp. was hoping to with the Post. Cablevision recently announced its first quarter earnings (PDF): A 10% increased in net revenue, and a 44% increase in net operating income.
