Channel 4 is paying £75 million for 'The Great British Bake Off' - and it wasn't even the highest bidder

Channel 4 is paying £75 million ($100 million) to prize "The Great British Bake Off" from the BBC - but it wasn't the highest offer on the table.

Business Insider sources, as well as reports in The Daily Telegraph and The Daily Mirror, have revealed that Channel 4 will pay £25 million ($33.2 million) a year, for three years to secure the biggest show on British TV from Love Productions.

Sources said the £25 million offer was four times what "The Great British Bake Off" is worth under its existing deal with the BBC. As part of its negotiations with Love, the BBC offered around £12 million ($16 million) a year.

Channel 4's was not the highest offer for the show, however. Love Productions entertained big money bids from ITV and Netflix, but a source said its decision "was not just about the biggest cheque but about creative partnership."

The Telegraph said Channel 4 has committed to commissioning 40 hours of "Bake Off" and related programming, including a "Stand Up To Cancer" charity special in 2017.

BBC spin-offs include BBC2 professional series "Bake Off Creme de la Creme" and "The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice," which Channel 4 could look to replicate.