Sony initially took over distribution duties in February after accusing CBS of breaching its contract and entering into a number of unauthorized licensing agreements. CBS responded by filing a restraining order seeking to keep the terms of the deal in place, which was granted, per THR.
The fight between the two companies largely boils down to an issue of bundling, as so many disputes seem to these days. CBS tends to bundle its shows for both licensing and advertising purposes, meaning Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune were sold as a package deal with potentially less-desirable CBS original programming. Brazile concluded that this practice could undercut profits for the Sony shows, while CBS argued that its own shows, rather than Sony’s, would take on any potential financial hit if a station didn’t want the full package. (The court disagreed, per THR‘s report.) Sony is also accusing CBS of failing to uphold its end of the deal by allegedly laying off the teams responsible for the shows’ marketing and advertising sales, while CBS, in a countersuit last year, alleged that Sony was unfairly trying to get out of its deal. Sony has also taken issue with CBS’ lack of an open bidding process for the shows, which could potentially block new stations from offering higher value.
In a statement, CBS Media Ventures claimed today’s ruling would be immediately appealed. “This is only a preliminary ruling based on partial evidence, not the outcome of the full case,” the company wrote, per THR. “We’re confident once all the evidence is heard at trial, we will prevail on the merits. In today’s ruling, the court itself recognized the balance of harm tips in CBS’s favor, so we will ask the appellate court for a stay pending our appeal.”
Sony, on the other hand, thanked the court for ruling in its favor. “We look forward to distributing our shows, Jeopardy! and Wheel Of Fortune, to the 200+ stations that license and count on this programming in the U.S. and around the world, and the millions of fans who tune in to these beloved game shows every week,” the company wrote in its own statement. Once again, Jeopardy! continues to be a lightning rod for controversy off-screen.
