Sony sues CBS over ‘threat’, Wheel of Fortune syndication deal.

Sony Pictures Television sues CBSclaiming that the latter had failed to fulfill its distribution contract Danger! and Wheel of Fortune in syndication.

Sony produces two long-running game shows that are consistently among the most-watched syndicated programs on television. The lawsuit, filed Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleges that CBS breached a contract to distribute the two shows to local television stations in the United States and entered into unauthorized distribution agreements abroad.

“As set forth in our complaint, CBS is dramatically undercutting the value and profitability of these shows in favor of its own interests,” Sony said in a statement. “CBS pocketed millions in distribution fees from unlicensed deals, licensed shows domestically well below market value and, among other things, favored its wholly-owned shows in the sale and distribution of advertising. In addition, CBS destroyed the teams responsible for fulfilling their contractual obligations, requiring us to step in at our own expense. After repeated attempts to resolve this matter amicably, we have no choice but to file the lawsuit today.”

In its own statement, CBS said that “for more than 40 years, CBS and its predecessor company, King World, have been experienced distribution partners and careful stewards for Wheel and Danger! in the syndication market. That work helped turn the show into a franchise, turn popular series into cultural icons and bring Sony billions of dollars in revenue. It is clear in our contract that we retain the rights to distribute these series indefinitely. We strongly deny any claims by Sony that we have not used our best efforts to distribute programs or have otherwise failed to meet our contractual obligations. Sony’s claims are based on the fact that they simply don’t like the deal the parties negotiated decades ago. We look forward to vigorously defending this lawsuit in court.”

Wheel of Fortune and Danger! each aired in syndication for more than 40 years, and Sony’s distribution deals with CBS and its predecessors (CBS bought the show’s original distributor, King World, in 1999) also date back to the early 1980s. Under the deal, CBS’ syndication arm, CBS Media Ventures, licenses the show to local stations and sells national commercials in exchange for 35 to 40 percent of the revenue.

Sony claims that CBS has not fulfilled its contractual obligation to make “best efforts” to make these revenues as large as possible. The complaint alleges that CBS licensed the show at below-market rates and failed to maximize potential advertising revenue from the two shows. Sony also alleges that CBS entered into unauthorized distribution deals in Australia, New Zealand and other international territories that exceeded the contractual limit of two years, and says that CBS Media Ventures acknowledged this in 2023 but did not hand over any checks for those deals . .

Sony, which is seeking monetary damages, also says recent layoffs at CBS parent Paramount Global have negatively impacted the distribution, marketing and ad sales divisions for the two game shows, further limiting CBS’s ability to meet the contract deadline. .

Below is a copy of Sony’s complaint.

October 31, 2:00 p.m Updated with a statement from CBS regarding the lawsuit.