Nets Threaten HBO Emmy Boycott

The Great Emmy War of 2002 is turning ugly.

As tonight's deadline draws nearer, the arm-twisting over whether the annual Emmycast stays on the broadcast nets or winds up on HBO is getting so intense, you'd think it was the Sopranos calling the shots, not a bunch of TV suits.

The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences seems close to signing off on HBO's megabucks bid to land the tube's top award show. But that didn't stop the four major networks--ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC--from making a last-minute counteroffer. The not so fab four are willing to pony up around $5 million a year to retain the Emmycast. That's a far cry from the $10 million HBO has on the table (along with another $6 million to $8 million in production and promotion costs to sweeten the deal), but the Big Four are also backing up their offer with some serious threats.

Namely, a boycott.

The networks are not above taking their prime-time stars--not to mention clips from nominated shows--and going home. A CBS rep says the network will no longer participate in the Emmys "in any way" if HBO lands the rights.

Fox and ABC have both been victimized by such tactics from their rivals when each briefly scored exclusive rights to TV land's annual back-patting fest. Since 1994, the Emmycast has rotated among the Big Four, with the nets paying a measly $3 million in annual fees.

The TV Academy is reportedly stunned by the boycott threats and is prepared to listen to the counter pitch to keep everyone happy. Some inside sources suggest the four suddenly united networks (never usually famous for brotherly love) might consider allowing HBO to be added to the rotation. But the quartet is adamantly opposed to a cable network snagging the telecast for five years straight, especially one that has been eating away at their ratings and snatching a goodly sum of top Emmys (24 last year, including Best Miniseries for Band of Brothers).

However, the TV Academy hasn't been too psyched with its meager haul, considering the telecasts usually net the networks a reported $10 million to $15 million yearly. The nonprofit organization wants more of that revenue returned to its coffers to fund educational programs and industry events.

The Big Four's hardball tactics aren't playing well inside Hollywood. As one unnamed exec tells Daily Variety, "These four monolithic companies, which operate federally protected distribution systems, are threatened to boycott a nonprofit organization they feel should be there to serve their profit line."

CBS' head honcho, Les Moonves, along with senior executives from ABC, NBC and Fox, will present the less-is-more networks offer to the TV Academy's attorney, Ken Ziffren, just prior to tonight's scheduled board meeting. The decision will ultimately be made by the 60 voting members on the Academy's board of governors.

Even if the stars from, say, CSI and Friends don't play, HBO's confident viewers would still tune in to see the net's own Emmy-winning The Sopranos mob and Sex and the City gals, along with comedians unfettered by the broadcaster's censors and the chance to see an award show air without commercials (meaning a mercifully shorter affair).

HBO would allow its signal to be unscrambled for the Emmycast, meaning it would be available in about the 85 percent of homes nationwide that get cable. The Big Four, on the other hand, reach virtually all 106 million U.S. homes. Over the past few years, the Emmys have averaged around 20 million viewers--far less than the Oscars, Grammys or Golden Globes.

While the networks, which use the Emmys to promote their own shows, are angered with the prospect of being upstaged by a cable network, one Academy insider seeks to put the whole thing in perspective.

"This is the Emmy Awards," the source tells Variety. "It's not a national treasure. If the NFL can be on ESPN, then the Emmys can be on HBO."