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REVEALED: Caitlyn Jenner's reps 'demanded ESPYs award in exchange for PR plugs and Diane Sawyer interview'

Caitlyn Jenner's representatives asked ESPN that she be the recipient of the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the ESPYs
They offered PR plugs on Jenner's upcoming reality show 'I am Cait'
ESPN executives loved the idea
Talks hit a stumbling block and Jenner's team threatened to pull out of the 20/20 interview with Diane Sawyer on ABC
ESPN and ABC are both owned by Disney
The problems were resolved and ABC landed one of the biggest stories of the year

Published: 03:03 GMT, 16 July 2015 | Updated: 12:18 GMT, 16 July 2015

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Representatives of Caitlyn Jenner reportedly negotiated her ESPYs award in exchange for PR plugs in her upcoming TV series and threatened to pull out of her 20/20 interview.

Reports have emerged that Jenner’s team approached ESPN with the idea that she win the Arthur Ashe Courage Award just as details were being finalized for her 20/20 interview with Diane Sawyer on ABC.

ABC and ESPN are both owned by Disney, and ABC aired Wednesday's awards ceremony.

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Caitlyn Jenner (right) accepts the Arthur Ashe Courage Award from former professional soccer player Abby Wambach onstage during The 2015 ESPYS at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California

‘It was a brilliant move because the executives at ESPN loved the idea, and immediately began making sure it got done,’ a source familiar with the negotiations told RadarOnline.

The talks hit a stumbling block, and Jenner’s agents were reportedly prepared to pull out of the interview with Sawyer.

‘It was ironed out, and ABC owns one of the biggest stories of the year.’

The build up to Jenner accepting the award will be featured in her upcoming reality show, “I am Cait”, generating a great deal of publicity for both ESPN and the awards.

Caitlyn Jenner's emotional ESPYs speech as she thanks family

Representatives of Jenner reportedly demanded she receive the award in exchange for PR plugs and the interview with Diane Sawyer

Caitlyn and Kylie Jenner star in emotional preview for I Am Cait

However, there is some dispute as to the timeline of the negotiations.

The Sawyer interview took place in April, and ESPYs producer Maura Mandt has told Sports Illustrated that the final decision was not reached until May after consultation with the Ashe Foundation.

ESPN has come under fire on social media for choosing Jenner for the prestigious award, with some claiming there are more worthy recipients.

One name that surfaced was the late Lauren Hill, the former Division III women's college basketball player. She raised $1.5 million for cancer research before succumbing to the disease.

Hill will be honored at Wednesday’s ceremony, and her family have said that they had nothing to do with the criticism of ESPN selecting Jenner.

Caitlyn takes Kim through her new wardrobe in I Am Cait trailer