CBS retakes control of ‘Jeopardy’ and ‘Wheel of Fortune’ rights
CBS retakes control of ‘Jeopardy’ and ‘Wheel of Fortune’ rights
A win in appeals court has sent distribution rights to the two game shows back to CBS, after Sony seemingly snagged them last week.
CBS has scored an important victory in its battle to maintain control over two of the most popular game shows on television. The network is mired in a legal battle with Sony over distribution of Jeopardy!” and “Wheel of Fortune,” and has won a key appeals court ruling to bring the shows back under its auspices, at least for the time being.
Key Details:
- Appealing: The appeals court ruling overturns a decision last week to send distribution rights to Sony.
- On hold: The ruling means that Sony cannot begin distributing the shows to other outlets until the appeals process finishes.
- Do better: Sony alleges that CBS has been taking below-market rates for the rights to the two shows.
Sony seemingly took the distribution rights to the long-running game shows under its control last week, when a court denied CBS's request for a preliminary injunction to stop Sony from seeking distribution deals. But the appeals court was more receptive to CBS’s request that Sony not be allowed to begin making these agreements.
“The superior court’s order of April 10, 2025 denying the preliminary injunction and allowing Respondents to begin ‘distributing the shows and need not deliver episodes to CBS’ is stayed pending further order of this court,” a three-judge panel from the Second Appellate District Court declared on Wednesday.
The ruling means that Sony cannot begin to make distribution deals for “Jeopardy” and “Wheel of Fortune” until the appeals process reaches a conclusion. Sony will have to respond to the ruling by April 28, and CBS will owe a reply to that response by May 9, leaving the distribution rights to the two shows in legal limbo for at least that long.
The breach-of-contract lawsuit between the two sides first erupted in October, when Sony Pictures TV accused CBS of licensing the show below market rates and engaging in “self-dealing,” denying Sony valuable revenue. Now the case will continue, even as Sony has an eye on licensing the two shows to a streamer so that episodes can become available next day on-demand at long last.
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