Did USA Overpay for ‘Casino Royale’?

Post by **Blowfeld** » Mon Apr 09, 2007 6:57 pm

blogs.tvweek.com/mariannepaskowski/
Did USA Overpay for ‘Casino Royale’?
NBC Universal-owned, ad-supported cable net USA just won the TV rights for the new James Bond flick, “Casino Royale,” starring Daniel Craig as the new 007. In what was apparently a very spirited bidding war among broadcast and cable nets, USA paid $20 million for a five-year deal, which brings the box office hit—which has grossed $400 million since its theatrical release last month—to the small screen in June 2009.

True, Bond movies always played well on cable. But that was then and this is now. The price seems steep to me, because two years from now, when even more households will have DVRs, who’s gonna sit through an already long movie and endure the endless procession of pods cluttered with ads and promos?

Advertisers could be burned, especially if Nielsen gets its act together—and I assume it will by then—to measure minute-by-minute viewing, including commercials. I, for one, have lost all patience with watching long-form programming on cable in real time. That movie on USA could likely become an evening-long commitment. Count me out.

USA, I predict, will have quite a selling job on Madison Ave. in this new age of viewer control and impatience. How can USA monetize this deal two years from now?

Post by **carl stromberg** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 12:48 pm

It looks like they did! Very interesting story Blowfeld.

Post by **Dr. No** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 5:17 pm

june 2009, $20 million for 5 year deal. Sounds like raw deal. Definitely over paid, it will take 5 years to earn the money back. Or longer with DVRs making advertisements worth less.

It would have been worth more to eon to make less on CR broadcast but be on a major station (CBS,NBC,ABC,FOX).

LikesThem_All · Post by **LikesThem_All** » Wed Apr 23, 2008 2:52 am

Casino Royale has been playing non stop by the televison station for about 3 weeks now.

Post by **Blowfeld** » Wed Apr 23, 2008 5:44 pm

LikesThem_All wrote:Casino Royale has been playing non stop by the televison station for about 3 weeks now.

Sorry old bean

. USA cable network still does not have rights to Royale. Unless it is the 1967 movie showing it is probably Showtime you are think of.

All the same welcome to the forum!

LikesThem_All · Post by **LikesThem_All** » Thu Apr 24, 2008 1:38 pm

Blowfeld wrote:
LikesThem_All wrote:Casino Royale has been playing non stop by the televison station for about 3 weeks now.
Sorry old bean . USA cable network still does not have rights to Royale. Unless it is the 1967 movie showing it is probably Showtime you are think of.

All the same welcome to the forum!

What a welcome. No need to apologize "old bean"

I said it has been playing non stop by the television station and I stand by my statement. Network or cable, it's a station available on my television and it's playing non stop n'est pas? What is the problem?

Post by **Blowfeld** » Tue Apr 29, 2008 6:58 pm

LikesThem_All wrote:
Blowfeld wrote:
LikesThem_All wrote:Casino Royale has been playing non stop by the televison station for about 3 weeks now.
Sorry old bean . USA cable network still does not have rights to Royale. Unless it is the 1967 movie showing it is probably Showtime you are think of.

All the same welcome to the forum!
What a welcome. No need to apologize "old bean" I said it has been playing non stop by the television station and I stand by my statement. Network or cable, it's a station available on my television and it's playing non stop n'est pas? What is the problem?

I said sorry old bean because people tend to take me too seriously when I type out a message and wanted you to know it was done with a chuckle.

One of our other members speculated HBO would get Royale first because of some deal between the studio and network yet somehow Showtime gets it.

The OP was about USA network paying too much for Royale considering how old the movie will be when it is finally aired. USA airing the movie now, instead of Showtime, would be desirable because of their bigger audience size.