Jeff Zucker, chief executive of NBC Universal, indicated that the General Electric-owned media group abandoned its pursuit of Dow Jones because it was a "fiscally disciplined" company unwilling to match the $5bn offered by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.

"I am not going to presume to know what's in Rupert's mind in terms of why he's bid what he's bid. But you have to remember, this has been a pattern he has always followed," Mr Zucker told the FT, noting the "exorbitant" sums the News Corp chief executive had spent over the years to win sports rights and establish his Fox television network in the US.