“Jeopardy!”, “Wheel of Fortune” in the midst of litigation between Sony and CBS

Sony Pictures Television, producer of the long-running series “Wheel of Fortune” and “Jeopardy!” TV programs, is suing CBS, the game show distributor, for breach of contract.

According to a lawsuit filed Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court, Sony alleges CBS entered into unauthorized licensing deals for the shows — two of television’s most popular and highest-grossing programs — and then paid itself commissions for those deals. It also alleges that CBS licensed the show at below-market rates and failed to maximize advertising revenue.

“The reality is that CBS is grossly undervaluing these shows in favor of its own interests and in violation of its contractual obligations,” the complaint states.

According to the lawsuit, CBS, a division of Paramount Global, is in the midst of an acquisition Skydance Mediareceives a 35% to 40% commission on the station fees for carrying two shows.

However, Sony says it learned last year that CBS had entered into unauthorized deals to license shows in New Zealand and Australia, in breach of its contract, and that the channel had refused to return the money it received from those deals — at a higher price. over $3.6 million — Sony.

Sony called the breach “just the tip of the iceberg”, alleging the network was involved in wider wrongdoing, including getting below-market prices for shows internationally and domestically, favoring its own shows in licensing negotiations .

In addition, Sony says that the turmoil at CBS, including a series of layoffs, has negatively impacted the advertising sales, marketing and distribution teams responsible for the two game shows, as well as those responsible for fulfilling overseas distribution commitments.

CBS denied the allegations in a statement, saying, “Sony’s claims are based on the fact that they simply don’t like the deal the parties negotiated decades ago.

“For more than 40 years, CBS and its predecessor company, King World, have been experienced distribution partners and stewards of ‘Wheels’ and ‘Jeopardy!’ in the syndication market,” CBS said in a statement. “This work helped turn the show into a franchise, turn popular series into cultural icons and bring Sony billions of dollars in revenue.”