CBS Countersues Sony in ‘Wheel of Fortune’ and ‘Jeopardy!’ Fight

variety.com:

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer CBS filed a countersuit on Tuesday against Sony, accusing the company of concocting a false pretext in order to back out of its decades-old distribution deal for “Wheel of Fortune” and “Jeopardy!” Sony sued CBS last month, alleging that CBS had failed to get top dollar for the two game shows and had engaged in self-dealing.

In response, CBS argued that Sony is simply trying to renege on a 42-year-old contract, after CBS rejected Sony’s nine-figure offer to buy out the deal. “Sony is attempting to obtain in court what it could not get at the bargaining table: the rights to the Series for free, by finding any excuse it can muster,” the countersuit states. “Wheel of Fortune” and “Jeopardy!” were initially produced by Merv Griffin Enterprises and syndicated by King World.

Sony inherited the shows when it acquired MGE; CBS took over distribution responsibilities when it bought King World. Sony argued in its lawsuit that CBS has suppressed the value of the popular game shows by favoring its wholly-owned programming in distribution deals with TV stations.

For example, “Wheel” and “Jeopardy!” have been bundled with CBS shows like “The Hot Bench” and “The Drew Barrymore Show,” with stations forced to take the entire package if they want the game shows.