From: dmatt@iastate.edu (Daniel I Matt)
Subject: NBC/contract dispute
Organization: hardly any
Date: Mon, 7 Sep 1992 04:29:48 GMT

   The following is an article taken from the TV Guide section in this       
Sunday's of the Des Moines Register:

        "Suitors pursue Letterman as NBC seeks to keep him"

                      by Bill Carter
                      New York Times

   David Letterman is the most wanted man in television.
   Though no decision can be made about his future television home, the 
intensity of the courtship of this NBC late-night star by other prospective
suitors has increased in recent weeks, and so has NBC's own interest in doing
everything it can to keep Letterman from going elsewhere.
   The odds may have changed recently in the Letterman sweepstakes, but the 
race to sign the late-night comedy star to a new contract won't - and can't - 
begin until NBC negotiates with Letterman.  John Agoglia, the president of NBC
Enterprises, said last week the network's contract calls for an exclusive
negotiating period with Letterman, which will not begin until early next year.
Letterman's contract will expire in April.
   NBC still expresses the hope that it can keep Letterman despite the 
acknowledged friction between the star and the network's management, which
began last year when he was passed over as the successor to Johnny Carson on
"Tonight."
   Several executives from NBC, other networks and syndication companies have
said the situation was particularly intense mainly because of Letterman's NBC
contract.  While representatives of other networks and syndication companies
have made what they call presentations to Letterman's representatives, no 
formal negotiations have taken place.
   "Nobody wants to be accused of tampering with NBC's rights in the contract,"
said one senior network executive, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Indeed, NBC has explicitly told those interested in Letterman that a lawsuit
could ensue if the network perceives its exclusive negotiating was violated.
   One chief concern is the "onerous nature of some aspects of the contract"
as one network programming executive put it.  NBC declined to spell out the
specific nature of the contract, saying it did not want to talk about         
conditions that may apply should Letterman decide to leave.
   But one syndication executive and one senior executive from another network
said Letterman might be prevented from starting a new television show for up 
to a year after his contract with NBC expires.  "They (NBC) can exercise an
option and keep him off the market" the syndication executive said.
   The option would be put into force should Letterman make a deal with 
another party and not return to NBC to allow the network to match the offer.
Because NBC has a year in which to match any competitive offer, it could, and
probably would, exercise its option to keep Letterman off the air, the 
executive said.
   Despite repeated requests to comment on the matter, Letterman has declined
to be interviewed.
   NBC executives said they believed the network's relationship with 
Letterman, which they acknowledged was strained for much of the past year, has
improved lately, since the arrival of producer Peter Lassaley.
   But part of that may reflect an increased commitment by NBC to keeping
Letterman.  One senior NBC executive said the network would hold off on
negotiating with Letterman as long as it could.
   "We want to be best able to assess the entire situation, from ratings to 
sales to how the economy is looking at that point," he said. 



    Well, I hope this has cleared up some questions for some of you out there.