NEW YORK, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) -- The National Broadcasting Company (NBC), which has had the broadcast rights of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City since 1953, is trying to hammer down a pricey deal with the retail chain to keep the event on the network and its Peacock streaming service for the next decade, reported The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on Monday.
"Under the terms being discussed, a new deal would kick in next year with an average annual fee of more than 60 million U.S. dollars, up from around 20 million dollars in the current contract," it said.
The price increase is indicative of the value of live programming to media companies as viewers flee traditional television for streaming services, noted the report. Certain events, from football games to awards shows, still draw people to old-school TV. Last month, Disney paid a roughly 20 percent premium to lure the Grammy Awards away from The Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS).
Millions of Americans will spend Thursday morning watching the Macy's parade, a majestic mix of balloons, floats, high school and college marching bands and big stars. A tradition that started a century ago, the parade remains one of the few spectacles that still draws a big audience to broadcast television, with nearly 30 million people tuning in last year.
