We already told you about The USA Network deal with Paramount to be the first non-premium pay cable channel to get to run “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.” Now we have news of other cable channels getting on board with similiar first run deals for flicks some have already debuted in theaters while others haven’t even hit the big screen yet or are still in production.
TNT and TBS will get their shot at “10,000 B.C.,” “The Dark Knight,” “Speed Racer,” “Get Smart,” Jim Carrey’s “Yes Man” and the Leonardo DiCaprio-Russell Crowe vehicle “Body of Lies” once they finish out their premium pay channel obligations.
The Warners/Turner deal goes well beyond just prebuys, according to Variety. Six other pictures already released in theaters also score in the deal. Included in these are Will Smith’s blockbuster film “I Am Legend,” “Fred Claus” with Vince Vaughn, the teaming of Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson in “The Bucket List,” the action movie “Fool’s Gold,” “TMNT (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)” and the animated “Ant Bully.”
While the studios and cable networks are mum on costs to the cablers, some are estimating the price tag for the 4½-year license term to be in the high multi-millions. We already know that the Indy Jones flick, “Sex & the City: The Movie” and “Semi-Pro” ran The USA Network over $40 million, so this package to Turner’s stations has got to be at least that much, if not more.
FX, another major competitor in the cable movie market, scarped up a whole slew of titles ranging from high drama to low-brow comedy including Will Ferrell’s “Step Brothers.”
These latest deals have made studios really take notice of cable television as a viable option over network TV as a place to sell their theatrical products.
Before the titles get to any of these non-premium cable stations they will debut on pay channels like HBO, Starz and Showtime, but by the 2010-2011 season they will begin popping up on those non-pay cable channels mentioned above.
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