HOLLYWOOD, California (Reuters) -- Attention all X-Philes: reruns of "The X-Files" are moving from their current cable home at FX to a shared window between the Sci Fi Channel and TNT. Both networks together are paying about $111 million to air the show for eight years, starting this October, Variety reports.

Rumors of "X-Files" negotiations have circulated throughout the industry over the past few months. But the talks dragged on because the deal is both complicated and unprecedented: Never before have two cable networks owned by different media conglomerates -- Sci Fi by Vivendi Universal and TNT by AOL Time Warner -- joined forces to buy reruns of a series as highly visible as "The X-Files." (AOL Time Warner is the corporate parent of CNN.com.)

The parties to the deal still haven't made any official "X-Files" announcement. Word leaked out Tuesday when reporters brought it up during a press briefing by Sci Fi called to ballyhoo its future programming.

Asked about the talks, Bonnie Hammer, president of Sci Fi, would say only that "we're close to closing a deal."

The terms, fees and air-times

Sci Fi will likely pay more of the license fee than TNT because it will get the exclusive right to play "X-Files" in prime time, which in cable means Monday through Friday from 7 to 11 p.m.

Sci Fi will pay about $325,000 an episode for the series' 202 hours and TNT will shell out $225,000 per segment. The Fox Broadcasting Co. network plans to cancel original episodes of "X-Files" after this season, the show's ninth.

In addition to prime time, Sci Fi will also get a second daily run, Monday through Friday, in a fringe time period. TNT gets first crack at a non-prime-time slot, and will also be able to take two daily runs, Monday through Friday.

For the first three years of the eight-year license term, syndicator 20th TV has the right to continue signing renewal deals with TV stations for double-run weekend play of "X-Files" in off-network syndication, where the reruns continue to score solid ratings.

As part of the deal for "X-Files," Sci Fi has agreed to pay a license fee of $125,000 an episode to 20th TV for exclusive rights to "Roswell," whose reruns will start on the network next January. During its prime-time run on the WB and UPN, "Roswell," now in its last season, will have built up 62 hourlong episodes.

"X-Files" reruns gave a powerful boost to FX when the struggling cable network first began running them multiple times each day in 1997. But over the years, "X-Files" reruns have softened, with FX finally taking them off the prime-time schedule and relegating them to 6 p.m.

Sci Fi is planning a massive "X-Files" promotional campaign this fall that it hopes will pump fresh life into the series and boost the channel into a slot as one of the 10 highest-rated cable networks in prime time.