Chelsea Handler Contract With E Still In Heavy Negotiations, In Spite of Reports Chelsea Wants Out of E! Network

Chelsea Handler recently said no to renewing her contract for the show "Chelsea Lately." Chelsea Handler says she's leaving E! Irving Azoff, Handler's manager, also says she's leaving E!  But E! hasn't confirmed that Chelsea Handler is leaving.

At first there was only vague notions of what the funny lady might do. "Chelsea Lately" pits Handler against the Late night interview show boys' club. Handler and E! are said to be in ongoing talks about whether or not she stays at the network. Handler is in talks to the end of her $25 million two-year E! contract. The last time Chelsea Handler's contract was up for renewal, E! conducted intense talks and Handler walked out with a $25 million two-year extension. 

Chelsea Handler said no to new contract with E! this week. Chelsea Handler will not renew her contract with the E! network once it runs out this year. Handler may be stalling to mount further publicity around her most recent bestselling book, "Uganda Be Kidding Me."

Chelsea Handler hasn't held back about her frustrations with E! Network. Handler told Howard Stern on his radio show "They don't know what they're doing. They have no ideas. It's a failure."

Chelsea told Howard Stern that E! has changed during her run, "It was a much different network, you know? It was bigger, and it was cooler, and and now...it's just sad. It's a sad place to live. They don't know what they're doing, they have no ideas... everything they do is just a failure."

Irving Azoff, Chelsea Handler's manager, told the Hollywood Reporter. "Chelsea intends to leave when her contract expires. She hired me to figure out her life after E! We have at least seven suitors and many ideas."

CBS first approached Chelsea to host a syndicated show, but she was not interested in doing that.

Azoff hinted that Chelsea Handler is sifting through offers like radio or digital show, or another TV show on another network.

E! told The Hollywood Reporte: "Chelsea has nine months left on her contract and E! will not comment on the future of Chelsea Lately at this time."

While television powerhouses such as FX and Lionsgate are said to be courting Handler, the late night host also revealed on Stern that she would be open to joining a digital platform like Netflix.

Azoff took over as Chelsea's agent in October. He said "She is an original and there's no one else like her in comedy and on television.  She can be a total bitch, but I've dealt with a lot of those before.  Chelsea is damn good at what she does and has an undeniably strong brand.  She and the guys have exciting ideas for the future of her career and production company."

According to Kantar Media, Handler makes about $9 million. About 572,000 people tune ijn a night, which is down from her 2010 numbers of 839,000 viewers. Ad revenue dropped off more than 15 percent to $134.5 million, according to Kantar Media.