NEW YORK (AP) — News Corp., which disclosed a surprise bid for Dow Jones & Co. last week, reported 6.2 percent higher profit yesterday on gains at its movie studio and cable networks, including Fox News Channel.Higher earnings from home video sales of "Borat" and the theatrical release of "Night at the Museum" and other movies helped drive News Corp.'s profit to $871 million in its third fiscal quarter ended March 31, up from $820 million in the same period a year ago. Revenue rose 21.5 percent to $7.5 billion.

The earnings were equivalent to 27 cents per share, in line with the estimate of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial, and up from 26 cents per share a year ago. News Corp.'s shares fell 45 cents to $21.30.

On a conference call with analysts and reporters, News Corp. chief executive Rupert Murdoch defended his unsolicited offer for Dow Jones, which has run into opposition from the company's controlling shareholders, the Bancroft family, and Dow Jones employees.

Murdoch called his $5 billion proposal a "full and fair price" for the storied newspaper and financial news company, and said the two companies made a "perfect fit." Murdoch has said he hoped to use financial news resources from the Journal to help build a business news cable channel that he hopes to launch this year, though he said on the call that those plans would go ahead regardless of whether his bid for Dow Jones succeeds.

Investors seemed to take Murdoch's remarks as signalling an unwillingness to raise his bid for Dow Jones, which currently values the company at $60 per share, a huge premium of more than 65 percent over where Dow Jones stock had been trading a day before the bid was disclosed.

Dow Jones shares soared after news of Murdoch's bid broke last Tuesday and have remained high despite the Bancroft family's resistance. The family remains divided, however, and has so far mustered 52 percent of the shareholder vote against Murdoch — less than the 64 percent of the voting power they control, leading some to hope that a higher bid could emerge, either from Murdoch or another player. Another key shareholder, Jim Ottaway Jr., who controls 5 percent of the company vote, is also opposed to Murdoch's offer.

In yesterday's trading, Dow Jones shares fell $2.87, or 5.2 percent, to $52.13, below Murdoch's offer price but still well above the $36.33 level at which they closed on Monday, April 30, the day before the bid became public. Over the past 52 weeks, the shares have traded from $32.16 to $58.47.

Murdoch said he would have preferred to discuss the offer, which he made three weeks ago, in private with the Bancroft family, but has been forced to discuss it publicly after news of the proposal broke last week.