Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! employees have been caught in the crossfire of an ugly lawsuit involving the show’s bosses – which is creating uncertainty and nervousness that’s spilling over into the workplace, a source exclusively tells Closer.
“The new-ish bosses at Sony Pictures Television are not happy with having the two highest rated shows in syndication with Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune and they are opting to be super aggressive with their longtime distribution partners at CBS over how exactly these shows are being monetized,” says a high level insider of the situation.
Sony, the producer of the two shows for the last two years, is suing CBS, the shows’ distributor, for breach of contract, according to reports. Sony alleges the network entered into licensing deals they didn’t authorize for the two products and then turned around and paid itself commission on those deals. They also claim CBS licensed the shows at a rate well below what could be expected and failed to maximize advertising revenues.
“The reality is that CBS has been egregiously undercutting the value of these shows in favor of its own self-interest and in violation of its contractual obligations,” the complaint reads.
CBS currently receives 35 to 40 percent commission from stations that are authorized to carry the shows, but Sony alleges that CBS’ deals in Australia and New Zealand went against their previous agreement and CBS is refusing to turn over the millions in revenue it received on those deals.
Sony Suing CBS Over ‘Wheel of Fortune’ and ‘Jeopardy!’ (EXCLUSIVE)
The insider argues, “It’s a risky strategy when you sue people who you are in regular, even daily business with, but the feeling at Sony is these shows are worth a lot more than anybody realizes, and they have a ton of leverage right now because their creative decision to pick Ryan Seacrest as Pat Sajak‘s replacement has created a ratings boost for the show not seen in years.”
Ryan, 50, recently took over the hosting gig from screen icon Pat, 78. With the infusion of new blood into the show, Wheel of Fortune hit a three-year high in ratings, according to Neilson. The future of the game show looks promising, which may be why Sony has decided to be litigious, in order to get their money’s worth from CBS.
“Sony is going after every penny these shows are worth and it may look a little heartless if you’re a long serving crew-member on one of these shows, but redefining the distribution relationship is meant to make both shows more profitable and extend their lives,” the insider adds.
With a popular host like Ryan at the helm, the insider says there are other considerations on Sony’s part too – that have to deal directly with keeping viewer-friendly talent: “There’s also the matter of securing Ryan for a longer term than his current two-year contract. That’s going to be Sony’s bill to pay, and even though they’ve created some short term uncertainty with this lawsuit, the top executives genuinely believe it will be good for the health of the franchises, long term.”
