By Ryan Parsons | Image property of Columbia Pictures, Variety.
Casino Royale
Since the box office reports have already told us that everybody and their spy-loving cousin likes Casino Royale, USA Network has decided to push all in on the film in order to acquire its cable rights.
USA Network Wins Casino Royale Cable Rights
Well, I don't know if you can call it a win considering the price tag, but USA Network walked out of a bidding war between FX, Spike and TNT as the victor for exclusive television rights to Casino Royale.
It turns out that the film's popularity with the networks wasn't only because of its box office success. Since early September, Madison Avenue has paid a premium for each of seven different theatricals that chalked up more than 2 million adults 18-49 on ad-supported cable: the USA Network recently featured Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl and Elf.
Don't start setting your Tivos just yet, as USA will not be allowed to air Casino Royale until June 2009. They will then be given a five-year license term that will allow them to either broadcast the movie or sell it to another cable network.
Too long to wait? Dry your eyes, as Casino Royale will first have a 15-month exclusive run on HBO beginning December 2007.
Besides Casino Royale, USA also forked over a whopping $25 million for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. I am always surprised for the television turnout on a film such as this considering every household is guaranteed to own at least one copy of the film after Christmas. Why not just put in the DVD and skip the ads?
Add to Heffee!
