Thereâs a good reason why NBC has been getting scoop after scoop in the Anna Nicole Smith soap opera and leaving the other networks in the dust - it has a secret $1 million deal with Larry Birkhead, the biological father of her 7-month-old baby, Page Six has learned.
An insider tells us the networkâs parent, NBC Universal, sealed the deal with Birkhead shortly after Anna Nicoleâs funeral, and thatâs why itâs getting exclusives that end up on the networkâs âTodayâ and âAccess Hollywoodâ programs and on its Bravo channel.
A rep for Bravo confirmed to us last night: âNBC Universal has an exclusive contract with Larry Birkhead and we donât discuss the terms of our deals.â
Our source says the Birkhead deal is almost up, but one more big scoop is in the works. Birkhead and little Dannielynn Hope Marshall Birkhead are flying from the Bahamas to Los Angeles today. âTheyâll be on board a Bravo-funded plane along with Howard K. Stern and the network is planning some kind of big interview,â our insider says.
âNBC-Universal made the deal with Larry right after the funeral. NBC did it through their entertainment division so there wouldnât be any uproar about it coming from news.â
Indeed, âAccess Hollywoodâ just scored a copy of the babyâs newly-issued birth certificate. Last month, Birkhead exclusively revealed to the show a tattoo he has of the late blond bombshell just above his jean line. âI have a tattoo on my back so I carry that around,â he gushed to the show. âItâs a picture of Anna so wherever I go, she goes.â
When Birkhead and his lawyer, Debra Opri, went their separate ways, âAccess Hollywoodâ was the first to report it. âTodayâ has also had its scoops. When Birkhead was officially ruled the biological father, he went on the show first to describe his joy, gushing, âYesterday was just a great day for me and Dannielynn.â
Birkheadâs lawyer could not be reached.
(Via pagesix)