A judge is allowing CBS to continue distributing “Jeopardy” and “Wheel of Fortune”, with a setback to the efforts of Sony Pictures Television to cut the ties with his lifelong partner.
The judge of the Superior Court of the Los Angeles County, Kevin C. Brazile, on Wednesday night granted the CBS request of a temporary restriction order. His order prevents Sony from avoiding CBS by sending new episodes of popular programs directly to the television stations that transmit them.
Sony owns and produces profitable games programs. The study of Culver City demanded to Paramount Global CBS the past autumn, claiming breach of contract. The contract intensified earlier this week, announcing that it would no longer provide new episodes of the programs to CBS. Sony said he would deliver the episodes lot of next week to television stations throughout the country.
CBS cried badly, saying that Sony could not unilaterally end the distribution agreement for a long time between the two companies.
The main King World Productions syndication firm, which CBS acquired in 1999, had reached the original producer's agreements, Merv Griffin Enterprises, in the early 1980s to distribute “Jeopardy” and “Wheel of Fortune”. Later, Sony acquired the Griffin company, but those first agreements remain in force.
“We are pleased that the court issues a temporary restriction order against Sony's illegal actions,” CBS Media Ventures said Thursday in a statement. “We will continue to distribute without problems Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! To our customers of the station as we have done for more than 40 years. “
Sony Pictures Television, in a statement, said that Brazile's temporary restriction order was not the final resolution.
“In the light of the continuous breach of CBS to fulfill its contractual obligations, SPT believes that the distribution agreements with CBS for the shows have legally completed and, consequently, it assumed all the global distribution functions,” said the company in a release.
Brazile scheduled a state conference on February 18 for an update on the legal dispute.
In his lawsuit last year, Sony said that CBS signed unauthorized licensing agreements for shows in Australia and New Zealand and a commission was paid for those agreements. Sony also claimed that CBS authorized rates programs below the market and could not maximize advertising income.
Sony complained that a separate dispute of months between CBS and the firm of qualifications Nielsen had denied the distributed shows of CBS with information of the audience that would demonstrate to the advertisers the strength of the shows. CBS and Nielsen agreed a new contract this week, authorizing CBS shows to receive the qualifications.
Sony also claimed that generalized dismissals in CBS had “decimated” the team dedicated to supporting “Jeopardy” and “Wheel of Fortune”.
These cost cuts forced Sony to intervene to perform key functions, including the management of contract negotiations with the main groups of television stations to ensure the distribution of the programs, Sony said in their demand.
Sony “will continue to fight against the mismanagement of CBS of these beloved shows and take all the legal actions necessary to protect our rights,” the company said in a statement on Thursday.
CBS, in his hiring last fall, alleged that Sony was motivated to eliminate the network of a lucrative agreement.
Sony had tried to buy the distribution rights of the two programs, but when that effort stagnated, Sony began to look for other ways of exercising control, CBS alleged in its demand.
CBS's father, Paramount, has faced financial struggles for several years.
Last summer, Tech Sion David Ellison and his family agreed to buy the participation of Family of Shari Redstone in Paramount. Federal regulators are reviewing Ellison's plans to take care of Paramount and combine it with their Skydance media production company.
Paramount and Skydance executives expect the agreement to close this spring.
