CBS Paid At Least $7 Million For Prince Harry, Meghan Markle's Oprah Interview: Report

CBS spent millions to obtain the rights for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's highly anticipated interview with Oprah Winfrey, according to a report.

The network is believed to have paid a licensing fee of between $7 million and $9 million to air the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's tell-all interview, The Wall Street Journal reported. However, Prince Harry and Markle were not paid a fee for the interview contrary to some speculations, per the report.

Also part of the agreement between CBS and Winfrey's Harpo Productions is the network's rights to license the special abroad. Prince Harry and Markle's interview will air on Sunday in the U.S. It will air on ITV in the U.K. on Monday.

Their chat with the legendary TV host is expected to shed some light on their decision to quit as working royals and move to California. In a teaser for the special released last week, Winfrey tells the couple, "You've said some pretty shocking things here," and teased that no subject is "off-limits."

Markle also addressed how the royal family may feel after her revelations.

"I don't know how they could expect that after all of this time, we would still just be silent if there is an active role that the Firm is playing in perpetuating falsehoods about us," the duchess said — "the Firm" referring to the institution of the royal family. "And if that comes with risk of losing things, I mean I — there's a lot that's been lost already."

When the news popped up on Twitter, fans of Prince Harry and Markle fired back at the social media users accusing the couple of being "greedy" and doing the interview only for money.

"It never ceases to amaze me at how many people make comments but don't bother to even read the article. They are so ready to just criticize these 2 that they don't even get the facts straight before they make incorrect assumptions.," one commented.

"People should actually read the article before saying hurtful thing this about princess Diana son and her daughter in law," another wrote. "Oprah does not pay anyone. If Princess Diana was still here, she would be so ashamed of all the troll saying hurtful things about her son and daughter in law."

"are you f--king kidding me, CBS paid 7 million for the rights to this interview and Harry and Meghan didn't get paid, that is bulls--t," another added.

When Prince Harry and Markle's interview with Winfrey was first reported, some had immediately speculated that they would receive a huge sum from the special. But others also defended the couple, claiming Winfrey doesn't pay her guests to take part in her interviews.

Meanwhile, the Sussexes' upcoming interview will cover a range of topics, from Markle's journey as a royal and motherhood to their philanthropic work and the intense public pressure she faced.

"Oprah with Meghan and Harry" airs Sunday at 8 p.m. EST on CBS.