Sony will take over the distribution rights of “Jeopardy!” CBS's Wheel of Fortune, a California judge, took a blow to the Tiffany Network to control the highly rated game show.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Kevin Brazil An interim ruling was announced on Thursday. Sony rejects court order CBS request that temporarily block the distribution of popular game shows.
This ruling effectively gives Sony a direct right to assume the full distribution obligation.
“Sony can start distributing the show and there's no need to provide an episode to CBS,” Brazil said in a preliminary decision.
CBS Media Ventures quickly announced its intention to appeal the ruling.
“This is merely a preliminary judgment based on partial evidence and not a complete case result,” CBS said in a statement.
“We are confident that all the evidence will be heard in court. We will win the merit. In today's ruling, the court itself recognizes the balance of CBS's favorable hints of harm, so we ask the Court of Appeal to stay pending appeal.”
Sony accused CBS of breaching its distribution agreement. The network accused them of entering unauthorized license arrangements at fees below market value, ignoring maximizing advertising revenue.
Sony also accused CBS of significantly undermining its distribution capabilities by implementing substantial layoffs that reduced the teams responsible for promoting and distributing the two iconic game shows.
CBS strongly denies these accusations.
In a countersuit submitted last year, the network claimed that Sony was unfairly trying to terminate the contract early.
CBS claimed it was sticking to the deal and generated billions of revenue for Sony.
In February, Sony replaced CBS as a distributor, claiming that CBS's actions constituted a clear contractual infringement.
CBS first responded by obtaining a temporary suppression order to prevent an immediate transition to Sony.
The Brazilian ruling also closely examined the practice of CBS, which bundles programming during license negotiations.
Affiliate Station Manager Dale Woods testified that CBS is a general insisting that it bundles other CBS programs with Sony's highly valued shows.
According to Woods, the station often felt forced to embrace additional CBS content due to the high value placed on “Jeopardy!”. And then “Wheel of Fortune.”
“Having the right to broadcast these shows can literally make or break you,” he testified in court.
CBS rebutted Woods' statement, claiming that bundling would not have a negative impact on Sony as the financial shortage from the constrained transactions only affected the CBS program.
However, the court said it could have prevented certain stations from entering into contracts because bundling is likely likely to lower overall prices and would likely have required acceptance of unwanted content.
Sony Pictures Television expressed optimism about future distribution opportunities and welcomed the court's decision.
“We are pleased with the court's decision today and look forward to distributing the show “Jeopardy!” And “Wheel of Fortune” is to the over 200 stations that license and rely on this programming in the US and around the world, and to the millions of fans who take part in these beloved game shows every week,” the company says.
The ruling also cited CBS's decision to abandon the open bidding process for the game show. This is a practice reportedly restricted potential revenues by limiting market competition.
The court documents referenced internal issues arising from CBS's 2019 merger with VIACOM.
Former CBS vice president Roxanne Pompa testified that after the merger, Viacom management showed little commitment to maximizing profits and quality in the international production of game shows.
“Before the CBS-Viacom merger, my team always handled production 100% from start to finish,” explained Pompa.
“When the Viacom side team took over some of this work, I learned that they didn't have the same respect for the production process.”
Court documents revealed other internal frictions, including CBS improperly extending its licensing agreement beyond its contractual limits and initially withholding related payments to Sony. CBS ultimately resolved these liabilities after the lawsuit.
“Danger!” And, despite premiering decades ago, “Wheel of Fortune” continues to gain massive viewers, along with host Art Fleming in 1964 and Chuck Woolly in 1975, respectively.
According to Nielsen, the two game shows each portray approximately 7 million viewers per night.
