Rivera Expected to Stay at NBC

NEW YORK — After becoming the object of a bidding war between NBC and the Fox News Channel, Geraldo Rivera is expected to announce today that he is staying at NBC with an expanded role and salary.

According to sources involved in the negotiations, Rivera will be paid between $4 million and $6 million annually by NBC, including stock options, which would make him one of the highest-paid anchors at the network. Tom Brokaw, anchor of “NBC Nightly News,” makes an estimated $7 million a year.

Rivera, 54, will continue hosting his nightly talk show, “Rivera Live,” the highest-rated show on CNBC, NBC’s cable channel that mixes business and talk programming. In addition, sources said, he will get the kind of serious-news legitimacy he has sought from NBC News: guest-hosting appearances on the “Today” show, several news specials per season and some kind of anchoring role on MSNBC, the NBC-Microsoft all-news cable channel that competes with CNN.

NBC is giving Rivera the salary increase and a presence on NBC News to counter the offer he received from the Fox News Channel last week to do his cable talk show there and anchor a new nightly newscast.

Rivera, whose syndicated daytime talk show has often been criticized for its tabloid sensibility, has received better reviews for “Rivera Live,” which focuses on high-profile legal cases.

Rivera--who has wanted more of a presence on NBC News--has felt he was not given enough respect or promotion by NBC, especially compared with MSNBC.

It was unclear Monday how Rivera’s new contract would affect MSNBC anchors or be received by news anchors at NBC News. Officials at NBC declined to comment.