Cablevision, the US cable TV operator, on Monday emerged as the winner in a bid battle for Newsday, the Long Island tabloid owned by Tribune, topping offers from Rupert Murdoch and Mortimer Zuckerman. The transaction, finalised over the weekend, values the newspaper at $632m.

The deal will enable Sam Zell, Tribune’s chairman, to pay down some of the debt he acquired when he paid $8.2bn for the Chicago-based company last year. At the time Mr Zell pledged to keep all 11 newspapers in the group but the deteriorating state of the industry forced him to change his strategy.