According to Advertising Age, the wake for broadcast television networks will be delayed a bit. Last week the big four finished pre-sale of advertising for the next season, and their estimated haul of $9.2 billion is up about 5% over the 2006-7 season.Leading the pack was CBS Corp (NYSE: CBS) at $2.45 billion, followed closely by ABC (Walt Disney, NYSE: DIS). NBC (General Electric's NBC (NYSE: GE) lagging badly in ratings all season, brought home only $1.8 billion, finishing behind Fox (News Corp, NYSE: NWS) at $1.9 billion.
I'd guess it was these results that caused NBC to break the piggy bank open yesterday to win the Paris Hilton stakes. According to the New York Times, ABC's bid of $100,000 for the fleshpot's first post-jail interview was trounced by NBC. According to the Times, Barbara Walters said NBC offered in excess of $750,000 for the interview, to be conducted by the Today Show's Meredith Vieira.
If Ms. Hilton is not, as she claims, as dumb as she appears, she might realize $750 grand will cover the cost of one hell of a good chauffeur. And a few pair of BVDs.
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