TV academy will keep Emmy Awards with broadcast networks, turning down HBO

<br>LOS ANGELES (AP) _ HBO failed in its bid to win the Emmy Awards away from the major broadcast networks but helped drive up the price those networks will pay to keep the ceremony. <br><br>The board

Tuesday, November 12th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

LOS ANGELES (AP) _ HBO failed in its bid to win the Emmy Awards away from the major broadcast networks but helped drive up the price those networks will pay to keep the ceremony.

The board of governors of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences agreed Wednesday night to an eight-year, $52 million deal with ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC, said academy chairman Bryce Zabel.

That more than doubles the $3 million per year the academy had been receiving under its recently expired network deal. HBO had offered a five-year, $50 million deal.

``Clearly, we owe an enormous debt of gratitude and affection to HBO,'' Zabel said. The cable channel's offer heightened awareness of the ``treasured resource'' the Emmy Awards represent, he said.

The new network deal also gives the academy more creative approval over the ceremony, which will rotate among the four networks from year to year.

The decision to stay with the broadcast networks was reached during a meeting at Emmy headquarters that lasted less than two hours.

Academy officials weighed considerations other than money. The networks were threatening to put a strong lineup opposite an HBO awards show and even withhold actors from the ceremony.

When the Emmys are a shared industry event ``we all lay down our swords to celebrate television for one night each year,'' CBS spokesman Chris Ender said Monday. ``But setting it up at one or several competing networks creates a competitive situation.''

``If that's the case, CBS will counterprogram the broadcast aggressively,'' Ender said.

Although HBO is a premium cable channel, it was expected to unscramble its signal for the Emmys to reach all cable and satellite viewers. The big four networks pointed out, however, that 14 percent of U.S. homes receive only over-the-air TV and could not see an unscrambled HBO show.

In recent years, HBO programs including ``The Sopranos'' and ``Sex and the City'' have proven to be Emmy powerhouses, spoiling network bids for several top prizes.

The 54-year-old Emmy Awards, while not as popular as the Oscars, are believed to generate a profit of between $10 million and $20 million for the network airing the ceremony that year.

Broadcasters noted they have to foot the bill for production costs of about $5 million as well as marketing expenses for the show.

Gaining a bigger share of the profits will enable the academy ``to do more good work'' with its educational programs and other industry-related events, Zabel said.