NBC Secures 3 More Years of ‘ER’

Seeking to inject some stability into a fragmented prime-time landscape, NBC secured a deal Thursday costing more than $500 million to keep “ER” on its schedule for three more years, continuing television’s most-watched dramatic series at least through 2004.

The agreement between the General Electric-owned network and Warner Bros. Television, the Time Warner division that produces the popular medical drama, extends an unprecedented $13-million-per-episode pact, cemented in 1998, that had one year left to run.

Although the parties declined to comment regarding terms, the fee appears to be significantly lower than the estimated $285 million NBC is paying the studio this year for 22 new episodes of the program. Sources close to the negotiations put the price at between $8 million and $9 million an episode, or $500 million to $600 million over three years, beginning in the fourth quarter of 2001.

Warner Bros. will still be in a profit position from that sum alone, even before toting up sales of “ER” reruns, which air on local TV stations as well as the TNT cable network, another Time Warner property.

NBC sources also maintain the network will be able to turn a profit under terms of the deal, and that having “ER” locked up would help allay some concerns as to whether its Thursday lineup could continue living up to its “Must-See TV” marketing slogan.

Insiders say the previous deal was unique, and included a reimbursement to Warner Bros. for its deficits from the first few seasons of producing “ER,” which wasn’t an issue this time around.

In addition, the network was especially vulnerable during the last round of negotiations, having just lost rights to National Football League telecasts and learning that its top-rated show, “Seinfeld,” would not return.

“Warner Bros. really had NBC over a barrel then,” recalled one executive.

Warner Bros. also has reason to cultivate a good relationship with NBC, which airs two other series from “ER” producer John Wells, “The West Wing” and “Third Watch.” Those first-year programs are at a more tenuous phase in their network lives, although each has been renewed for a second season.

The “ER” agreement is not encumbered by any casting contingencies, meaning the studio can keep shuffling actors in and out of the ensemble cast. After the last deal, the studio struck rich new long-term contracts with original stars Anthony Edwards, Noah Wyle and Eriq LaSalle, putting them among the highest-paid performers on television, earning $9 million or more per season.

In addition to producer Wells, “ER’s” profit participants include Steven Spielberg (the series is produced in conjunction the director’s Amblin Television) and novelist Michael Crichton, who created the show.

NBC quietly approached Warner Bros. about an extension in the last few months and is clearly determined to retain its most popular programs in time periods where viewers are accustomed to finding them.

The network finalized an agreement earlier this week with mogul Barry Diller’s Studios USA to renew another high-rated show, “Law & Order,” well into 2005, meaning that series will be on for 15 years--second only to “Gunsmoke” in terms of longevity among prime-time dramas.

“What the network has done is recognize the value of the franchise,” said Warner Bros. Television President Peter Roth.

NBC and Warner Bros. still have one expensive negotiation to complete, with the cast of TV’s top-rated comedy “Friends” having yet to agree to new contracts for the fall. The six stars are bargaining as a group and demanding sizable raises, which could push the program’s costs toward the $5.5 million per episode that NBC reportedly shelled out for “Seinfeld” during its final season, the record for a half-hour show.

NBC is working against a deadline of May 15, when it is scheduled to unveil next season’s prime-time lineup to advertisers.

The “ER” deal carries the show through a 10th season. The program currently averages more than 24 million viewers a week, only slightly off last year’s number despite losing actor George Clooney.

It is TV’s second-most-watched program, trailing only behind ABC’s hit, “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,” and commands more than $500,000 for a 30-second commercial.