OK! has given People a knuckle sandwich in the ongoing weekly-celebrity-magazine wars.
Sources said People “laid the groundwork” for landing exclusive photos of Eva Longoria and Tony Parker’s July 7 wedding – but Page Six has learned that OK! won the frenzied bidding. Sources close to the negotiations said OK! paid more than $2 million.
It was a surprising – and costly – end to the battle for the privilege to snap the nuptials, which the “Desperate Housewives” hottie and her San Antonio Spur fiancé plan to hold in a romantic castle in Paris.
“People editors broke the story of their wedding and were working hard with Eva’s reps [to secure the picture rights],” said a source close to the talks. “They were upset about losing the photos.”
Other sources suggested that previous coverage in People of the couple’s rumored breakup, including a photo of Parker with another woman in New York, may have influenced the result.
But a well-placed source said that had nothing to do with it, that “it was [entirely] a matter of money, straight up to the final negotiation.” Another insider said, “Everyone wanted the photos . . . but everyone knows OK! will pay [a lot].”
A rep for OK! declined to comment on what it paid, saying, “We don’t release numbers.”
OK! editor-in-chief Sara Ivens told us, “These were obviously highly coveted photos, and we were thrilled to negotiate the exclusive rights. Covering great moments with the celebrities that we love is what the magazine’s all about.”
Neither People’s nor Longoria’s reps would comment.
Source: NY Post
