Sony will take over the “Jeopardy” distribution rights! And “Wheel of Fortune” by CBS, a Judge in California decided – taking a blow to the Tiffany network in his struggle to keep control of highly valuable game shows.
Los Angeles Supreme Court Judge Kevin Brazile issued a probative decision on Thursday denying CBS’s request for a court order that would temporarily block Sony from distributing popular game shows.
The ruling effectively gives Sony the immediate right to obtain full distribution tasks.
“Sony can start distributing shows and does not need to deliver episodes to CBS,” Brazil said in his preliminary decision.
CBS Media Ventures quickly quickly announced his intention to appeal the ruling.
“This is just a prior decision based on partial evidence, not the result of the full issue,” CBS said in a statement.
“We are sure after hearing all the evidence in court, we will prevail in the merits. In today’s ruling, the court itself recognized the balance of damage councils in favor of CBS, so we will request the Court of Appeal for our appeal.”
Sony has accused CBS of violating their distribution agreement. He accused the network of entered into unauthorized licensing arrangements in market value tariffs while neglecting to maximize advertising revenue.
Sony also accused CBS of fierce undermining its distribution skills by applying considerable holidays that reduced the teams responsible for promoting and distributing two iconic play shows.
CBS strongly denies these allegations.
In a contradiction filed last year, the network claimed that Sony was unjustly trying to terminate their deal prematurely.
CBS continued that she had respected the contract and that she generated billions of revenue for Sony.
In February, Sony replaced CBS as the distributor while claiming that CBS actions were clear contractual violations.
CBS initially responded by receiving a temporary restriction order to prevent immediate switch to Sony.
Brazil’s decision also closely examined CBS practice to collect programming during licensing negotiations.
Dale Woods, a collaborative station manager, proved that CBS usually insisted on collecting Sony’s very valuable shows with other CBS programs.
According to Woods, the stations often felt obliged to accept additional CBS content due to the high value set in “Jeopardy!” and “Wheel of Fortune”.
“The rights of rights to broadcast these shows can literally do you or spoil you,” he testified in court.
CBS opposed Woods’ statements, arguing that the packaging did not adversely affect Sony as any financial shortages from packaged agreements only affected CBS programs.
However, the court disagreed, noting that the packaging is likely to lower the total prices and has probably prevented certain stations from entering the agreement due to the request to accept less desirable content.
Sony Pictures welcomed the court’s ruling, expressing optimism about the possibilities of distribution in the future.
“We are pleased with the court ruling today and we look forward to sharing our shows,” Jeopardy! “And ‘Wheel of Fortune’, in 200+ stations that license and rely on this programming in the SH.BA and worldwide, and millions of fans allocating to these loved ones every week,” the company said.
The ruling also quoted the CBS decision to renounce an open bid process for play shows – a practice reported to limit potential revenue by limiting market competition.
Court documents also referred to internal issues deriving from the CBS joining with Viacom in 2019.
Former CBS Vice President Roxanne Pump proved that after the union, Viacom management exhibited less commitment to maximize profits and quality in international game manufactures.
“Before joining CBS-ViaCom, my team always cared for 100 percent production from start to finish,” Pompa explained.
“When the side team Viacom took over some of the job, I saw that they did not have the same consideration for the production process.”
Court documents discovered other internal frictions, including CBS by properly expanding licensing agreements beyond contractual boundaries and initially holding Sony -related payments. CBS eventually resolved these debts after litigation.
“Jeopardy!” And the “Wheel of Fortune” continue to be caught in the mass audience, despite decades premiere before – in 1964 with Art Fleming’s host, and in 1975 with Chuck Wooler, respectively.
The two play shows draw about seven million viewers one night each, according to Nielsen.
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Image Source : nypost.com