2ND UPDATE 9:00 PM: Informed sources now tell me the off-network TV rights to The Big Bang Theory went for a record even bigger than first thought: $2+M per episode. The breakdown is TBS paying over $1.5M and Fox broadcast stations over $500K. What a huge haul for Warner Bros Domestic TV Distribution.

UPDATE 5:00 PM: I’ve just learned that The Big Bang Theory‘s off-network syndication rights sold for a record $1.5 million an episode. (Warner Bros will not confirm this figure.) That shatters the previous record of $1M for a sitcom cable sale fetched by Seinfeld in its first deal with TBS. Last night, bidding was fierce until the bitter end: TBS vs FX on the cable net side, and Fox vs Tribune on the broadcast stations side. USA never tossed its hat into the ring despite saying privately it intended to go after the top-rated sitcom in a big way. And, surprisingly, Viacom’s MTV did enter the fray (not, as expected, Comedy Central) — but stopped bidding shy of $1M an episode.

12 PM: Fall 2011 is when Warner Bros’ The Big Bang Theory will hit TV syndication as a weekday strip on both TBS and Fox Television Stations simultaneously in what I’ve learned is a record-setting sale. (UPDATE: The Warner Bros Domestic Television Distribution news release is below.) Deadline’s Nellie Andreeva already reported that the sitcom was headed to TBS ( Syndication Bids In For ‘Big Bang Theory’) and that the cable net would share the show with broadcast stations.

The Fox-owned stations have acquired the exclusive off-network broadcast television rights in the following 10 markets: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Washington, DC, Houston, Phoenix, Miami Minneapolis, Orlando and Baltimore. I heard that the other broadcast bidder, Tribune, which plays the other big Chuck Lorre Productions’ sitcom Two and a Half Men along with FX, lost the fierce bidding war for Big Bang Theory. And, in a sour grapes move, Tribune immediately spun the trades that it had “passed” on the top-rated series. Which isn’t true. “Tribune did not pass and did not drop out,” one of my insiders confirms.

Off-network bids for Big Bang Theory were due at Warner Bros at 9 AM PT on May 11th. Bidders knew that, “Holy shit, this was something special,” an insider told me. “The marketplace kept getting more and more excited about it.” And why not since 2009-2010 ratings went through the roof for the laugher, the first time in two decades that a 9:30 PM show became the No. 1 sitcom. The price was expected to pass the $1 million record for a sitcom cable sale fetched by Seinfeld in its first deal with TBS. This week, TBS, FX, USA, and Comedy Central all submitted their offers for Big Bang Theory, along with broadcasters Fox and Tribune. “It will be a shocker if TBS doesn’t land the show,” an insider told Andreeva back on May 11th. Besides being in the Time Warner family, TBS wanted Big Bang as a strong lead-in for the new Conan O’Brien talk show. I hear Warner Bros Domestic Television Distribution vowed to figure out how best the broadcasters and the cable nets could collaborate. And, in the end, “TBS and Fox made the most compelling economic program”.

1 PM UPDATE: Here’s the Warner Bros news release: