Los Angeles ? HBO, which has wrested an increasing share of Emmy Awards away from broadcast networks, is negotiating for the ceremony itself, industry sources said Monday.

HBO’s offer is for a lucrative, five-year deal beginning in 2003, sources said on condition of anonymity. Such a deal would move the 54-year-old prime-time awards away from the big four networks – ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC – for the first time ever.

The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences has been in contract renewal talks with the four networks, which have aired the awards show in rotation for the last eight years.

But the networks balked at the academy’s request for a $10 million annual license fee, industry sources said. The annual fee would be a sharp increase from the $3 million the academy was receiving.

HBO stepped in with its offer amid the dispute, sources said. Its proposal will be presented to the academy’s board of governors Wednesday night.

Cable channels used to honor their own with the CableACE Awards, but those were discontinued after 1997 because of the increasing success of HBO and other channels at the Emmy Awards.