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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Interview with Oprah Reportedly Cost CBS Upwards of $7 Million

Photo credit: Karwai Tang - Getty Images
Photo credit: Karwai Tang - Getty Images

From Town & Country

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's sit-down interview with Oprah Winfrey comes at a cost. No, not the fallout from the revelations shared during the primetime conversation; we're talking about the cold hard cash CBS paid for the rights to air the special.

According to the Wall Street Journal, "CBS is paying a license fee of between $7 million and $9 million for the rights to air Ms. Winfrey’s interview with Prince Harry and the Duchess of Sussex, according to people familiar with the pact."

As part of the agreement with Winfrey's production company, Harpo Productions, the network "has rights to license the special in international markets." It will air tomorrow night on ITV.

CBS is also maximizing its advertising profits off the special. Per the Journal, the network "was seeking roughly $325,000 for 30 seconds of commercial time during the program according to ad buyers, about twice the normal price of ad time in that time period."

But despite the financial success of the sit down, Harry and Meghan were not paid for their participation in the program. A spokesperson for the couple confirmed to the Journal that the Sussexes were not compensated, and at the start of the program, Oprah clarified:

"Before we get in to it, I just want to make it clear to everybody that even though we’re neighbors … that there has not been an agreement, you don’t know what I’m going to ask, and there is no subject that’s off-limits and you are not getting paid for this interview."

Meghan responded: "All of that is correct."

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