In the Newsday Sweepstakes, the Smart Money is on Murdoch

(MoneyWatch) 
(Update: Over the weekend, Murdoch's News Corp. abruptly withdrew its offer and Cablevision was reportedly closing in on its deal to acquire Newsday. So much for the smart money!)
The Clash of the Titans for control of Long Island-based daily Newsday has gotten even more complicated in the past week as Cablevision Systems Corp. upped the ante from the competing $580 million offers by moguls Rubert Murdoch and Mortimer Zuckerman by almost 13 percent to $650 million.

But, insiders including Murdoch himself insist that his News Corp. will soon prevail. During his conference call with analysts Wednesday, Murdoch predicted he'll wrap up the deal within a week.

"This is a great market and this will give us a very powerful position," the owner of the New York Post and The Wall Street Journal stated. Murdoch predicted that Newsday will add around $100 million to News Corp.'s annual revenue.

Asked about Cablevision's offer , Murdoch answered: "No, I don't think Cablevision will prevail. Just be patient a couple of days."

The other Newsday suitor, New York Daily News owner Zuckerman, may still be in the running, but it is widely believed inside the industry that Newsday's current owner, embattled Tribune Co. CEO Sam Zell, prefers to do business with Murdoch.

For one thing, the Australian-born magnate has offered a creative financial package that will help Zell avoid burdensome tax consequences once the sale goes through. (Zuckerman offered to match Murdoch's terms, and is currently rumored to be considering upping his offer, in wake of Cablevision's entry in the bidding.)

Meanwhile, industry analysts have not been receptive to the decision by the cable TV giant to enter the bidding for a daily newspaper. In his two reports to investors, for example, Craig Moffett questions why Cablevision would enter what he calls "a failing industry." He continues: "Put simply, the economic model of news gathering -- of maintaining costly overseas correspondents and news bureaus, of investigative journalists -- is being eviscerated. And it is being eviscerated by the Internet."