NEW YORK - News Corp., the media conglomerate controlled by Rupert Murdoch, has withdrawn its bid to purchase the Long Island daily paper Newsday, a News Corp. spokeswoman said Saturday.

The decision to revoke the offer came just days after Murdoch confidently predicted he would clinch a deal to buy the newspaper within a week.

News Corp. had offered about $580 million for the paper, one of the country's biggest, but it was competing against rival bids from Cablevision Systems Corp. and New York Daily News owner Mortimer Zuckerman. Cablevision had reportedly made an offer of $650 million for the paper, now owned by the Tribune Co.

News Corp. spokeswoman Teri Everett didn't immediately elaborate on why the company revoked its earlier offer, but she hinted at the potentially higher price, saying, "It became uneconomical for us to continue." Murdoch had indicated earlier that he wouldn't raise his bid.

A deal would have made News Corp. an even bigger giant in New York media. The company already owns the Wall Street Journal and the New York Post, plus two area television stations.

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