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Nine buys 60 Minutes stories from TEN

In an unsurprising announcement Nine and TEN today confirmed that Nine will buy up to 25 stories it will own from the US Sixty Minutes from TEN.

The move follows TEN stitching up a deal with CBS in the US which includes Letterman and Dr Phil.

TEN’s deal was looming as a disaster for Australian Sixty Minutes producers who suddenly had emptying schedules amid Nine budget cuts.

Sub-licensing deals are not new with both The West Wing and The OC licensed by Nine to other networks.

TEN’s Press Release follows:

Network Ten today announced the Nine Network would sub-license up to 25 (twenty five) US ’60 Minutes’ stories per year from TEN.

TEN has exclusive Australian broadcast rights to US-produced ’60 Minutes’ content under its long-term program supply agreement with CBS Paramount International
Television.

Nine will have a specific time from the US telecast date to inform TEN it has selected a certain ’60 Minutes’ story(ies) for broadcast on Nine.

TEN’s chief executive officer, Grant Blackley, said: “TEN sought expressions of interest from all Australian free to air broadcasters, and the Nine Network positioned themselves as preferred bidder.

“To that end, TEN negotiated with Nine towards a commercial outcome with which we are absolutely delighted.

“This arrangement provides TEN an efficient way to manage the literally hundreds of hours of CBS News and ’60 Minutes’ content delivered under our agreement with CBS Paramount.”

Mr Blackley added TEN continued to evaluate where US ’60 Minutes’ stories not selected by Nine would feature in its schedule.

CBS produces approximately 100 ’60 Minutes’ segments each year. Terms of the multi-year arrangement between TEN and Nine are confidential.

TEN commenced long-term Australian broadcast rights to CBS news and factual programming, enhancing its existing program supply agreement with the studio, in January of 2007.

Nine’s Press Release is below:

Nine Network Australia confirmed today it has secured the rights to CBS’s 60 Minutes current
affairs content from the Ten Network.

Eddie McGuire, CEO Nine Network Australia, said he was delighted with the outcome.
“Late last year we declined to renew our contract with CBS in the United States as it included a great deal of content we did not need. We were however interested in taking stories from the US 60 Minutes.

“We have news arrangements with ABC, CNN, APTN, Reuters and BSkyB and were not using
much of the CBS content. Under our new agreement, we will have access to the best 60 Minutes
stories from the United States while not having to pay for other content we don’t need in our schedule – a considerable saving overall” Mr McGuire said.

The Nine Network separately owns the 60 Minutes name and trademark in Australia.

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