Sony Pictures Television said it has stopped delivering new episodes of its popular game shows “Jeopardy!” and “Wheel of Fortune” to longtime distributor CBS, escalating a contract dispute between the two television giants.
Culver City-based Sony announced Monday that it had taken over global distribution of the two shows. The studio said it would bypass CBS and send new episodes directly to television stations that broadcast the programs.
CBS fired back, saying that Sony could not unilaterally end the distribution deal between the two companies. In a statement, CBS vowed to seek a temporary restraining order to preserve its ties to the venerable shows.
“CBS remains the distributor for the series, notwithstanding any communications from Sony to the contrary,” CBS Media Ventures said in a statement Monday, calling Sony’s statements on the matter “false, inappropriate, and ineffective.”
“CBS will be seeking immediate relief from the appropriate courts,” CBS said. “All business should continue in the usual course.”
For more than 40 years, CBS has distributed the shows, which are owned by Sony and produced on the studio’s lot.
Early Monday, Sony’s game show president, Suzanne Prete, sent a letter to the president of CBS News and Media Ventures, Wendy McMahon, saying this week’s batch of episodes, which were sent to CBS on Jan. 27, would be the last.
“Sony Pictures will begin delivery of episodes of the shows to broadcasters starting with the episodes scheduled to air the week of February 10,” Prete told McMahon.
Last fall, Sony moved to terminate CBS’s distribution agreements due to alleged breaches.
Sony filed a breach of contract lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court in October, alleging that CBS had entered into unauthorized deals with foreign broadcasters and undercut the value of the two game shows, which have retained a loyal following despite shrinking ratings across the broadcast television landscape.
CBS, in a counter-complaint last fall, maintained that Sony had previously tried to renegotiate deal terms by buying back the distribution rights to the two programs. When that failed, CBS alleged, Sony began looking for other ways to exert control.
Sony says that extensive layoffs at CBS, owned by the Shari Redstone-controlled Paramount Global, have “decimated entire teams responsible for the shows’ licensing, marketing and promotions, and advertising sales.”
Staff members at Sony have had to step in to carry out duties traditionally performed by CBS, including marketing and promotions, the studio said. “Sony Pictures has had to participate in and even take over negotiations with major station groups for the renewals of the shows,” the Sony lawsuit said.
Paramount has grappled with financial struggles for several years. Last summer, tech scion David Ellison and his family agreed to purchase Redstone’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.
Sony said in its lawsuit that CBS takes 35% to 45% of the fees that television stations pay to carry the two programs.
“CBS has profited massively — to the tune of more than a billion dollars — under the agreements, due principally to Sony Pictures’ ongoing investment in and consistent dedication to producing and promoting the shows,” Sony’s lawsuit said.
Sony also alleged that CBS struck distribution deals in Australia and New Zealand that exceeded the scope of CBS’ distribution agreement.
CBS has defended its conduct.
“For more than 40 years, CBS and its predecessor company King World have been accomplished distribution partners and thoughtful stewards for ‘Wheel’ and ‘Jeopardy!’ in the syndication market,” CBS said last fall in a statement. “This work has helped build shows into franchises, transform popular series into cultural icons and deliver Sony billions of dollars of revenue.”
Another wrinkle in the Sony dispute is CBS’ separate contract fight with ratings giant, Nielsen. For months, CBS programs were not covered by Nielsen and its ratings, which continues to be the TV industry’s primary source of audience data. Sony alleged that the lack of ratings undercut CBS’ ability “to maximize advertising sales and syndication” and led to the loss of a key advertiser.
On Monday, Nielsen and Paramount separately announced that they had reached a new accord and that Paramount networks and platforms, including CBS, Paramount+ and Pluto TV, would be covered by Nielsen again.
