For at least the next three years, the Kardashian clan will remain on television to the delight of fans across the world. It was announced on Tuesday by the E! Entertainment Network that a new three-year deal was struck with the Kardashians to keep them on television for the next three years. The family will be compensated with $40 million for the next three seasons, which is the most lucrative contract in reality television history.
The show airs on Sunday nights and the sixth season averaged 3 million viewers per episode, making it the network’s top series. The seventh season begins on May 20 and will consist of 18 episodes. In the network’s history, five of the 10 most-watched shows were centered on the Kardashians in one way or another. The network said that the whole family is covered by the contract. This includes Kim, Kourtney and Rob Kardashian; Bruce, Kris, Kendall and Kylie Jenner and Khloe Kardashian Odom. The network will also be first in line for any spinoffs that could arise in the future.
The network has turned the family into an empire, spawning spinoffs ‘Kourtney and Kim Take New York’ and ‘Khloe and Lamar.’ The network, with the deal, retains first right to the spinoffs already in production but the contract did not specify if any new ones will be created. The network did not say if Kanye West would be appearing in the series. West and Kim have been spotted together quite a bit recently with rumors swirling that they are dating.
The elaborate wedding and then very brief marriage for Kim and basketball player Kris Humphries was the focal point of the programming on the network during the fall season. The network had to release a statement claiming that the wedding was not a ruse created specifically for television ratings after receiving backlash from the public.