Negotiations for a fifth season of "Breaking Bad" have grown tense between AMC and Sony Television, the program’s producer, reports the Los Angeles Times’ Company Town blog.

Sony sent feelers to three other cable networks about a deal for the show in case talks with AMC fell through, the story says. The two sides have disagreed over the length of the fifth season, with AMC wanting only six to eight episodes instead of the usual 13, the piece says. That was rejected by Sony, and caused the producer to approach other networks, the story says.

AMC has been seeking to trim costs on shows, with "The Walking Dead" cutting about $250,000 on its per-episode budget. There’s speculation that budget cutting is one reason why producer Frank Darabont left the show, although people close to AMC say that wasn’t the case, the story notes.