Australian network signs historic lifetime deal with B&B

An Australian network wants to be bold and beautiful for life.

A diamond is forever, and best friends can last forever. But an infinite television deal? It seemed kind of unfeasible -- until now.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that Australia-based Network Ten has so much faith in The Bold and the Beautiful, they've signed a lifetime deal to carry the CBS show as part of its programming. In essence, the deal between Ten and Bell-Phillip Television's distribution arm, BBL Distribution, locks the series to Ten indefinitely.

"In television, a long-term commitment like this is rare. We are elated to celebrate this amazing joint achievement," says the show's executive producer and head writer, Bradley P. Bell, adding that the deal illuminates a "special chemistry" the show has with the Australian market and that Ten is "an outstanding broadcast partner, for which we are grateful."

Generally, television series are sold on "run of series" basis, but they include a variety of exit clauses. The "run of series" agreement usually means, according to the publication, that "even if a studio output deal changes channels, existing programs remain with the broadcasters which launched them. It is why, for example, when the 20th Century Fox output deal in Australia switched from Ten to Seven, shows such as The Simpsons and The X-Files remained on Ten. A so-called 'lifetime' deal means that so long as the show is in production, the broadcaster has agreed to buy it."

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A similar "lifetime" deal exists for the Australian soap opera Home and Away. Both the Australia-based Seven Network and British Channel 5 have signed on to carry the soap indefinitely.

What do you think about Network Ten's unwavering support of B&B? Do you wish that American networks would also show such support of daytime dramas? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.

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