Cable network FX is close to acquiring Twentieth Television's How I Met Your Mother, which would begin airing this fall, according to sources.
FX will likely pair the show with Warner Bros.' Two and a Half Men, which it acquired in 2007 for approximately $800,000 and began airing last fall.
How I Met Your Mother is a primetime staple for CBS and has been renewed for two more seasons. The show also will continue to air on Lifetime, where it's been running since September. Lifetime paid approximately $725,000 an episode for the show, according to reports.
Now, FX and Lifetime will split the cash component and each get 5.5 minutes of barter in the show, while Twentieth gets 90 seconds. Ratings for the national barter time are cumed across all broadcast and cable plays, and that additional exposure should improve the show's financial returns.
FX and Twentieth each declined to comment.
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