It was bound to happen: tired of pumping out ads with a not-so-subtle "just wait until after the Olympics because we're not going to waste our A game while you're watching the Greco-Roman Wrestling heats" subtext, Channel Seven's rivals (which for the most part means Channel Nine, as ABC are too busy being seriose cats and Channel Ten are off packing bowls and hanging ten, or something equally hip and youthful) have started coughing up the mad bucks to get gold medalists on their shows - and, naturally, Seven is pissed.

"This is unprecedented, the level of desperation, the underhandedness and ugliness that went on," a source said.

 

The wheeling and dealing followed big ratings for the Olympic coverage and an insatiable appetite for the inside stories of the stars.

Rice only agreed to the Channel Seven offer yesterday morning and was a late withdrawal from a Channel Nine 60 Minutes special that was filmed yesterday afternoon in Beijing.

Evidently Nine, in typically classy fashion, were trying to lure athletes away from the Olympic stadia like a creep with a bag of lollies, telling the sportoes that since they weren't filming on Seven turf, they wouldn't be breaking any agreements. Hilarious! Naturally Seven responded by walking tall and carrying an even bigger chequebook, signing Stephanie Rice - for example - to a two-year, $800,000 Seven deal. Anyone else ready to stop hearing about how much sportspeople are paid?

Tags: au | channel nine | channel seven | industry | olympics | sixty minutes | stephanie rice