Warner Bros. has been holding back their titles for exclusive cable broadcasting so long that a nice collection has begun to build up. Taking advantage of this, TNT and TBS have acquired broadcasting rights to the WB collection and it is chock full of tentpoles.
Turner Broadcasting decided to get in on the action after watching USA and FX battle it out while purchasing prebuy titles. With the competition there, the network was forced to acknowledge the value of having film exclusives.
With a purchase this big one can only wonder how much Turner paid for such a package. Unfortunately for us, neither party is talking. To make your own estimate, networks usually agree to pay up to 11% of a given film's final domestic box office, with a cap somewhere near $250 million.
Turner execs were high-fiving over the Warner Bros. deal. "Movies are a key part of the programming lineup on TNT and TBS," said Ken Schwab, senior VP of programming for the two networks. "We're getting titles that are perfect fits for our brands.".
Schwab went on to point out that I Am Legend and The Dark Knight were made for TNT while Get Smart and Yes Man would be a perfect fit at TBS. I had no idea either channel favored a genre.
Add to Heffee!
