USA eyes U pic pack

Deal would follow Columbia rights sale

By JOHN DEMPSEY

The USA Network is negotiating with Universal to buy the first broadcast window for a package of theatrical movies including "The Jackal," "For Richer or Poorer," "The Boxer," "Primary Colors" and the just-released "Mercury Rising."

Sources say the deal might encompass a separate window for a run of a couple of the titles by one of the big four broadcast networks either before the USA Network premiere or within six months of the first burst on USA.

The revelation of the USA talks with Universal came with the announcement by USA that it has nailed down the rights to Columbia Pictures' "Seven Years in Tibet" and "Wild Things" and Polygram's "The Big Lebowski" and "The Gingerbread Man." The cable net has recently been expanding its push to buy first broadcast windows of lots of theatrical movies.

Sci-Fi Channel nabs new titles

The Sci-Fi Channel, USA's sibling, grabbed the first broadcast window on two other Columbia theatricals, "Solo," with Mario Van Peebles, and "Gattaca." Following their premieres on Sci-Fi, these two pictures will eventually play on USA within the exclusive four-year license term, which kicks in for all of the titles two and a half years after the movies complete their theatrical runs. These are basic-cable exclusives. Pay-cable exclusives come one year after the pictures finish up in the theaters -- the Columbia movies will go to HBO for a window of a year and a half and the Polygram titles to Showtime for the same period.

USA will pay a total of between $10 million and $12 million for the six Columbia titles. The studios compute four-year license fees for basic-cable-exclusive rights on a sliding scale based on domestic box office performance, according to sources.

As a rule of thumb, the network pays the studio about $1 million for each $10 million of box office for a less-than-stellar performer. So USA will pony up about $4 million for "Seven Years in Tibet," which grossed about $38 million in U.S. theaters.

Movies five nights a week

Starting this fall, USA will schedule movies in primetime on five nights each week. The movies will run at 9 p.m. from Tuesday through Friday, following the 8 p.m. strip "Walker, Texas Ranger." They will also run at 7 p.m. on Saturday. Monday on USA is given over to primetime wrestling. Original hourlong series like "La Femme Nikita" and "Silk Stalkings" rule on Saturday and Sunday from 9 to 11.