News Corp. posted a strong profit increase for its fiscal third quarter as a big gain on an asset swap and higher results from its television unit offset a decline in the company's film segment.

Coming after strong earnings reports from both Walt Disney Co. and Viacom Inc. in the past week, the results may offer comfort to investors worried about how media companies are coping with the cooling economy.

Meanwhile, executives signaled they weren't actively pursuing a deal for the company's MySpace unit with Microsoft Corp., Time Warner Inc.'s AOL or Yahoo Inc. "We feel great about MySpace as a stand-alone entity," News Corp. President Peter Chernin told analysts on a conference call. "At the same time, we're willing to have strategic conversations if they make sense." Mr. Chernin said News Corp. wasn't in discussions with Microsoft. Both he and News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch said they hadn't talked with Yahoo or AOL in a couple of weeks.

Mr. Murdoch also expressed confidence that News Corp., which acquired Dow Jones, publisher of The Wall Street Journal, in December, would win a bidding war for Long Island newspaper Newsday, which is being sold by Tribune Co. While News Corp.'s $580 million bid has been topped by a rival offer from Cablevision Systems Corp., Mr. Murdoch said: "I don't think Cablevision will prevail."

The results came after the close of regular market trading. At 4 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading, News Corp. shares fell 25 cents, or 1.3%, to $19.20.

The quarter included a $1.7 billion gain tied to a stock-and-asset swap with Liberty Media Corp. In February, News Corp. exchanged its stake in DirecTV Group Inc. and other assets for Liberty's stake in News Corp.

Healthy ad-revenue growth at the Fox network helped lift operating profit in the television division 53%. News Corp. said production spending was lower in the quarter as a strike by Hollywood screenwriters halted production of many TV series. The Super Bowl telecast in February added costs but also lifted ad revenue. Operating income rose 17% overall for the cable networks, driven by increased ad revenue and higher fees paid by cable and satellite operators.

At the film and television production division, typically News Corp.'s biggest business segment by sales, operating income fell 36%. The film studio had box-office success with "Alvin and the Chipmunks," but results were hurt by comparison to year-earlier DVD and theatrical hits.

The newspapers division reported a 38% increase in operating profit, helped by the acquisition of Dow Jones. Mr. Murdoch told analysts he sees a big opportunity to increase revenue and profit at Dow Jones, describing it as "a business which has been under-managed or not managed for decades."