A judge is allowing CBS to continue to distribute “Jeopardy” and “Wheel of Fortune,” dealing a setback to Sony Pictures Television’s efforts to sever ties with its longtime partner.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Kevin C. Brazile late Wednesday granted CBS’ request for a temporary restraining order. His order blocks Sony from bypassing CBS by sending new episodes of the popular programs directly to television stations that air them.
Sony owns and produces the profitable game shows. The Culver City studio sued Paramount Global-owned CBS last fall, alleging breach of contract. It escalated the contract tussle earlier this week, announcing that it would no longer supply new episodes of the shows to CBS. Sony said it would deliver next week’s batch of episodes to TV stations around the country.
CBS cried foul, saying Sony could not unilaterally end the longtime distribution deal between the two companies.
The defunct King World Productions syndication firm, which CBS acquired in 1999, had struck deals with the original producer, Merv Griffin Enterprises, in the early 1980s to distribute “Jeopardy” and “Wheel of Fortune.” Sony later acquired Griffin’s company, but those early agreements remain in effect.
“We’re pleased the court issued a temporary restraining order against Sony’s unlawful actions,” CBS Media Ventures said Thursday in a statement. “We will continue to seamlessly distribute Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! to our station clients like we have for over 40 years.”
Sony Pictures Television, in a statement, noted that Brazile’s temporary restraining order was not the final resolution.
“In light of CBS’s continuous failure to live up to its contractual obligations, SPT believes it has lawfully terminated the distribution agreements with CBS for the shows and accordingly assumed all global distribution functions,” the company said in a statement.
Brazile scheduled a Feb. 18 status conference for an update on the legal dispute.
In its lawsuit last year, Sony claimed that CBS entered into unauthorized licensing deals for the shows in Australia and New Zealand and paid itself a commission on those deals. Sony also alleged that CBS licensed the shows at below-market rates and failed to maximize advertising revenues.
Sony complained that a separate months-long dispute between CBS and ratings firm Nielsen had denied CBS-distributed shows with audience information that would demonstrate to advertisers the strength of the shows. CBS and Nielsen agreed on a new contract this week, authorizing CBS shows to receive the ratings.
Sony also alleged that widespread layoffs at CBS had “decimated” the team dedicated to supporting “Jeopardy” and “Wheel of Fortune.”
Those cost cuts forced Sony to step in to perform key functions, including handling contract negotiations with major TV station groups to secure distribution of the shows, Sony said in its lawsuit.
Sony “will continue to fight CBS’s egregious mishandling of these beloved shows and will take all necessary legal actions to protect our rights,” the company said in a Thursday statement.
CBS, in its countercomplaint last fall, alleged that Sony was motivated to cut the network out of a lucrative deal.
Sony had tried to buy back distribution rights to the two programs, but when that effort stalled, Sony began looking for other ways to exert control, CBS alleged in its suit.
CBS’ parent, Paramount, has faced financial struggles for several years.
Last summer, tech scion David Ellison and his family agreed to purchase Shari Redstone’s family’s controlling stake in Paramount. Federal regulators are reviewing Ellison’s plans to take over Paramount and combine it with his Skydance Media production company.
Paramount and Skydance executives are hoping that deal closes this spring.
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