MATT LAUER - LAUER: PAYMENT FOR DIANA CONCERT DID NOT GET HIM HIS "GET"

LAUER: PAYMENT FOR DIANA CONCERT DID NOT GET HIM HIS "GET"

Today show co-host Matt Lauer insisted on Monday that he did not land an interview with British Princes William and Harry because NBC had agreed to shell out $2.5 million for the rights to air an upcoming tribute concert for Princess Diana. In an interview with reporters, Lauer said, "When the concert deal was signed, they hadn't decided they were even going to do an interview. ... There was no quid pro quo here. There was no, 'We'll do the concert and we get the boys.'" Nevertheless, he added, Do I think the fact that we were airing the concert gave us an enormous advantage? Absolutely. That's a no-brainer ... [but] I can tell you right now, if there had been some quid pro quo, I wouldn't have had to go through the hoops I had to go through." He did not describe the sort of "hoops" he had to go through.

26/06/2007