TNT snags Law rights

August 2024 · 6 minute read

Deal is cable's most expensive

NEW YORK — In a deal that could well total more than $150 million, TNT has bought the exclusive, off-networks cable rights to “Law & Order,” one of the steadiest and highest rated off-net series for A&E and among all basic cable webs.

The deal represents the most expensive off-network series sale ever to be sold to cable.

A&E, which bought the initial off-net rights to “Law & Order” for $155,000 per episode, will run the Studios USA drama through the 2001-2002 television season.

Industry observers said that “Law & Order” was the first show in memory to gain so much momentum during its first cable rerun cycle that its price escalated for its second off-network sale.

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TNT will pay in the neighborhood of $250,000 per episode, or a bit less than double what A&E paid, for the first 181 episodes of “Law and Order,” sources said. The second batch of episodes will cost TNT roughly $700,000.

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Neither Turner or Studios USA officials would comment on the deal’s price.

“This is a coup,” said Lisa Mateas, senior VP, programming, for TNT. “We were pleasantly surprised that we had a shot.”

That’s because many observers believed Studio USA’s sister cable web, USA Network, would have the inside track on the series.

“Barry Diller (Studios USA chairman) is telling the marketplace that we’re in the business of producing and selling shows to the people that make the best offer,” said “Law and Order” producer Dick Wolf, “not just selling to Barry.”

On a per-episode basis, “Law & Order” would have cost less than the $750,000 USA shelled out for “Walker, Texas Ranger.”

TNT, USA and A&E were the only bidders for “Law & Order,” and sources said that A&E dropped out when prices escalated.

“This wasn’t a crazy deal,” added Mateas. “It was very compatible for shows of this quality.”

TNT set the off-network price record when it agreed to pay its sister company Warner Bros. $800,000 per episode for “ER.” TNT does not have the cable exclusive on the “ER” deal; on the weekends, the show was sold to stations in syndication.

Though A&E strips “Law & Order” up to four times a day, the Dick Wolf-created drama has seen its ratings gradually grow on the cabler.

A&E’s 11 p.m. “Law & Order averaged a 1.8 cable universe rating in the 1998 calendar year and strengthened throughout the year.

It averaged a 1.4 in the first quarter, a 1.6 in the second quarter, a 1.8 in the third quarter and jumped to a 2.2 for the fourth quarter.

The show has earned seven consecutive Emmy nominations as Outstanding Drama Series and won the award in 1997.

“A good deal of anxiety can be relieved when you have a show of this caliber on the shelf,” said Mateas.

During the show’s cable run, NBC has also seen “Law & Order’s” ratings increase during the show’s first run.

“Law & Order” is in its ninth season and usually wins its Wednesday 10 p.m.-11 p.m. timeslot. The drama’s run on NBC continues to look bright and it should continue for several more years.

TNT has the rights to premiere “Law & Order” episodes beginning with the current 1998-1998 season in September 2001. That means it’s likely TNT will run its second, new package of “Law & Order in 2001-2002 while A&E will continue to schedule episodes from the series’ first package.

TNT will have exclusive rights to the series for 10 years once the windows begin.

TNT will gain rights to the 181 episodes from the 1990-91 to 1997-98 seasons beginning in September 2002.

(John Dempsey contributed to this report.)

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