NBC pays 'Friends' $22M

February 12, 2002 Posted: 1342 GMT

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -- NBC and Warner Bros. concluded the biggest deal ever for a half-hour television program Monday when they renewed the Thursday-night blockbuster "Friends," agreeing to pay each of the six cast members $1 million per show, or $22 million a season, a newspaper reported Tuesday.

The deal will cost NBC $7 million per episode for the season, which is believed to be  the last for the series, according to the New York Times report.

According to the report, NBC will pay more for two half-hour shows -- $14 million -- than the network spent to renew the highly rated "E.R." in its 1998 season, which cost $13 million per hour-long episode.

In addition to the "Friends'" salaries, each cast member will continue to receive some portion of the syndication profits, the Times said.