Joan tries on new address

By JAMES ENDRST
New York Daily News
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
6/23/2004

It looks like Joan and Melissa Rivers will roll up their red carpet at E! Entertainment and move to the TV Guide Channel.

No deal has been signed but sources close to the negotiations told the Daily News the mother-daughter team is talking to the TV Guide Channel and is poised to sign a three-year deal worth $6 million to $8 million.

The shift is significant because the Riverses' pre-awards shows are among the most-watched programs on E! Entertainment each year.

A spokeswoman for E! had no official comment and referred all inquiries to Joan Rivers' press representative, Richard Grant.

"At this point, Joan has no comment to make," said Grant, adding, "It's a little premature. Joan does not talk about deals until they are a deal."

Nevertheless, a formal announcement is expected shortly, sources said.
The 71-year-old Brooklyn-born Rivers and her 36-year-old daughter have been shouting down stars at major Hollywood award shows since 1995 and asking "So, who are you wearing?"

As hosts of E! Entertainment's high-profile pre-show grab-and-gab fests - at the Emmys, the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards - Rivers and Rivers created a cottage industry built on the barely veiled backs (and fronts) of Hollywood stars.
But not all has been well between Joan Rivers and E! She has been working without a contract since December and has been "unhappy," sources said.
A&E also competed for the Riverses but "dropped out as the price escalated," according to Variety.

The Riverses would do much the same at the TV Guide Channel as they've done for E! and would be the channel's most prominent stars.

TV Guide Channel representatives would not comment on what the hosts might do if hired. But some see the two as a way to make TV Guide a viewing destination rather than a quick stop.

Identified historically as a listings channel, TV Guide's original programming is taped and is heavy on celebrities and what's on, with shows run and rerun frequently.

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