NBC News didn’t land its exclusive interview with Princes William and Harry as a result of a hidden pay-for-chat deal, insists anchor Matt Lauer. The network has been accused of – and outright denies – paying $2.5 million in rights fees not only to air the Princess Diana Tribute Concert but for a sit-down with Diana’s sons.Not so, said Lauer, who did the interview.
“When the concert deal was signed, [the princes] hadn’t decided they were even going to do an interview,” Lauer told reporters yesterday. “There was no quid pro quo here. There was no, ‘We’ll do the concert and we get the boys.’ I think it was only after they were well down the road, and this is actually something I talked to [William and Harry] off-camera about, well down the road with planning the concert that they decided they might also want to talk.”
