Back in 2006, Beaconsfield miners Brant Webb and Todd Russell received a reported $2.6 million to tell their story to Channel Nine and its print stablemates Woman's Day, The Australian Woman's Weekly and The Bulletin.

Now, News Corp reports that Sydney siege survivor Marcia Mikhael has been signed by Channel Seven for $400,000, while John O'Brien will get $100,000. Fairfax Media, however, is reliably informed by multiple sources that the real amounts are substantially lower.

Meanwhile, rival Nine is rumoured to have signed four Lindt cafe workers – Fiona Ma, Harriette Denny, Joel Herat and Jarrod Morton Hoffman – for a combined $1 million, though Fairfax Media understands this figure is also wide of the mark.

It is believed that senior journalists Melissa Doyle, Chris Reason and Mark Ferguson are all involved in the Seven News special, which will be helmed by former Sunday Night boss Mark Llewellyn. Seven executive producer Max Uechtritz and his team are also heavily involved.

While Seven will air its program as a news special, Nine has confirmed 60 Minutes as the vehicle for its interviews.

It has previously been reported that Iraq hostage Douglas Wood was paid up to $400,000 for an exclusive interview with Ten, while Thredbo disaster survivor Stuart Diver received a rumoured $250,000 from Seven in 1997 (which would now equate to significantly more).

According to media analyst Steve Allen, managing director of Fusion Strategy, the networks can't afford to pay as much now.

"Times are tough in television," he says. "You can't go crazy. I think the total amount that's been reported that might have been spent by the two networks [$1.5 million for six interviews] is in the risk area.

"$300,000 was originally rumoured for one of the people that Seven and Nine were chasing. Our view is that that's about tops. That's [the most] we think it's going to be worth in the ratings."

Allen says it was easier for the commercial networks to monetise big interviews a decade ago.

"Now, you've got a substantial amount of the audience that watches the digital multi-channels," he says. "While a big event like this will drag some eyeballs back, you'll still have [many viewers watching digital stations] that didn't exist 10  years ago."

Neither network has confirmed if they will hold their interviews until at least February 8, when the official 2015 ratings period begins. Depending on when they air, both may face stiff competition from the sport and blockbuster reality shows that dominate the start of each year.

Multiple sources say it is unlikely Seven and Nine will program their specials in precisely the same timeslot, though neither is ruling it out. But all agree that in this instance, being first should not trump the need to produce a sensitive, well-researched program.

Given each network has signed different people, it is likely that many viewers will watch both programs.

"Seven had the camera sitting opposite [the Lindt cafe], so they have all that footage we haven't seen yet," Allen says.

"But Nine has signed all the staff. Put simply, both should rate."

PAID INTERVIEWS*

$2.6 million: PBL pays Beaconsfield miners Todd Russell and Brant Webb for a two-hour special in 2006, plus magazine interviews.
$250,000-$400,000: Engineer Douglas Wood talks to Ten about being held hostage in Iraq for six weeks in 2005.
$250,000: Thredbo disaster survivor talks to Seven's Witness and The Australian Women's Weekly. 
$250,000: Lindy Chamberlain talks to 60 Minutes in 1986 about her daughter Azaria being taken by a dingo.
$200,000: Bob Hawke and Blanche d'Alpuget talk to 60 Minutes in 1995.
$200,000: Mamdouh Habib talks to 60 Minutes in 2005 following three years being held as a terrorist suspect by the US.
$100,000: James "the Iceman" Scott spoke to 60 Minutes about his 43-days stranded in the Himalayas in 1992.

*All figures are estimates only