Kelly Kahl USA show reports president Kelly Kahl USA

CBS Bosses Talk “Challenging” Negotiations & Tough Calls Following ‘Magnum P.I.’, ‘B Positive’ & ‘United States Of Al’ Cancellations

Reading now: 514
deadline.com

CBS likes to renew its strongest series early; last year, the FBI franchise and The Equalizer were picked up in March. When May rolled around this year and none of the the Universal Television-produced CBS drama series, the highly rated FBI dramas and The Equalizer, as well as solid Friday performer Magnum P.I., had been renewed, it was clear that the two sides were going through grueling negotiations.Ultimately, CBS did give must-haves FBI, FBI: Most Wanted, FBI: International and The Equalizer two-year renewals less than two weeks before the network’s upfront.

A few days later, Magnum P.I. was canceled.“There’s always a few shows that are more challenging to close deals with,” CBS President and CEO George Cheeks told Deadline ahead of the Paramount upfront presentation. “But we got everything done we needed to get done and it never got contentious or didn’t get down to the wire.”CBS Entertainment President Kelly Kahl, while acknowledging that there are always tough calls to make, admitted that suppliers of hit shows like the FBIs and The Equalizer have leverage but also downplayed the contentiousness of the negotiations.“Whoever’s got leverage tries to use it and if you have good partners you work together to find a win win for everybody,” he said.Deadline reported at the time of Magnum P.I.’s cancellation that it was a business, not a creative decision, after the two sides could not come to an agreement on the license fee as lower overall linear ratings have been pushing down on what networks are willing to spend on shows.

The problem is most pronounced when a series comes from an outside studio as is the case with Magnum P.I., and I hear the call was influenced by the bruising negotiations CBS had to go through with

Read more on deadline.com
The website celebsbar.com is an aggregator of news from open sources. The source is indicated at the beginning and at the end of the announcement. You can send a complaint on the news if you find it unreliable.

Related News

DMCA