HOLLYWOOD - A bloody battle for the right to air Buffy the Vampire Slayer is over, with UPN driving a stake through the heart of the WB. After months of negotiations, and a bitter public battle over the teen-cult hit, Joss Whedon's series will begin shooting scenes for a fall season to air on UPN.
The network announced late Friday that it has sealed a two-year, $102 million deal with Buffy producer 20th Century Fox Television, leaving the WB, the series' home since its premiere in March 1997, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
UPN will fork over $2.3 million per episode for the first season and $2.35 million for season two, the Hollywood Reporter said.
The deal also includes a provision that would allow UPN to pick up the Buffy spinoff Angel for two seasons if the WB cancels the show.
"We are incredibly pleased to have Buffy the Vampire Slayer on UPN," Dean Valentine, the network's president, said in a statement. "Not just because it is one of the best shows on the air and represents a new era in UPN's life and direction, but more importantly because Joss Whedon is one of the finest writers and producers in television."
During the past season, the show has averaged 4.4 million viewers in its 8 p.m. Tuesday timeslot.
UPN's offer was a great deal higher than the Frog's final offer, the Hollywood Reporter said. The WB initially offered 20th Century Fox $1.6 million per episode -- up from the $1 million the network currently pays, the Hollywood Reporter said.
Buffy star Sarah Michelle Gellar had publicly stated her concerns about where her show would air. She said she would prefer the series to remain on the WB.
The 100th and final WB episode of Buffy will air May 22.
Unlike the struggle for Buffy, negotiations between NBC and Paramount over Frasier ended recently with the fictional talk-radio shrink remaining a fixture on NBC.
NBC had been paying $5 million per episode for the series, now in its eighth season, and ended up paying just under 10 percent more per episode, it said. Paramount had wanted $5.5 million. The 3-year deal prevented Paramount from shopping the hit sitcom to another network.