Advertisers to pay almost £100K for final Friends spots

LONDON - UK advertisers will have to pay a premium for spots around the final episode of 'Friends', following a similar move in the US last week where NBC demanded a record £1.1m for a 30-second slot during the NFL Super Bowl.

'Friends' starts its final series in the UK on February 5 on digital channel E4 and the next day on Channel 4. Spots will be sold on a "platinum rating" or "super special" as Channel 4 did last year with the 'Big Brother' final.

Channel 4 is offering spots to those who will buy both packaged and special airtime and the value will be in the region of £95,000 for the Channel 4 30-second spot and around £35,000 for a 30-second E4 break.

A spokesperson for Channel 4 claimed that the deal will be "one of the highest-priced spots" that the channel had commanded.

Jacob's Creek, the Australian wine brand, has already renewed its sponsorship of 'Friends' to cover the final series.

'Friends' will continue to be repeated on Channel 4 as will 'Sex and the City' and 'Frasier' following their final episodes. The final episode of 'Friends' will be broadcast on Channel 4 on May 28 and a day earlier on E4.

Meanwhile, Channel 4 has announced a raft of new series and programming to take over.

Hit US drama 'The OC', short for Orange County, starts on March 7 and is touted as 'Beverly Hills 90210' for the 21st century. It is being followed by HBO's two-part 'Angels in America' starring Al Pacino, Meryl Streep and Emma Thompson, which will be televised on February 7.

Later in the year 'The Simpsons' will make its Channel 4 debut in November, moving over from BBC Two, along with new series of 'Will & Grace' in April, 'The Sopranos' and 'The West Wing' in June, and 'The Osbournes' in July.

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