Grant’s big splash deal

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SUPERFISH Grant Hackett is at the centre of a Commonwealth Games row that is brewing between the Nine and Seven networks.

Channel 7 has said it plans to use world-beater Hackett as a special correspondent on its national news programs during the Melbourne Games.

But Nine has paid $56 million for the rights.

Having the potential superstar of the Games working for the opposition has Kerry Packer’s Nine lawyers examining the fine print of its TV rights deal.

In addition to ploughing though the pool, Hackett will mike-up for Seven news, Today Tonight and morning show Sunrise.

Amid an industry belief it paid too much, Nine is desperate to maximise its hold on athletes – and ratings – and squeeze Seven out.

While Nine has exclusive rights inside venues and the Games village, it has no special sway outside official Games zones.

Nine is planning on having each Australian team member sign a contract, which includes a clause banning the athlete from acting as a journalist.

Until last month, Hackett was a key member of Nine’s celebrity athlete team but Seven poached the 25-year-old for a six-figure deal in the weeks before his triple-gold performance at the Montreal world titles.

A Seven spokesman conceded the move would create bad blood between Seven and its major rival.

“One thing of which you can be sure – there will always be tension between Seven and Nine,” he said.

Let the games begin.