CBS and Sony release ‘Wheel of Fortune’ and ‘Jeopardy!’ on Fight
The increasingly ugly battle between CBS Media Ventures and Sony Pictures Television over distribution of the early syndicated megahits “Wheel of Fortune” and “Jeopardy!” has come to a conclusion. Both parties sent out a joint press release on Friday, announcing that they had reached an “amicable resolution” over their legal battle regarding the two shows.
Under the settlement, international distribution of “Wheel” and “Jeopardy” will transition to Sony on December 1. U.S. domestic distribution of both shows will be handled by CBS through the 2027-2028 TV season, when it will also move to Sony. Marketing, promotions and affiliate relationships for “Wheel” and “Jeopardy” will be handled by CBS during this current 2025-2026 TV season before moving to Sony.
Meanwhile, CBS will lead all ad sales at least through the 2029-2030 TV season. (Sony had previously managed a limited supply of spots.) There was no mention of the plan for ad sales beyond 2030 or whether it might be extended.
“We have reached an out-of-court settlement regarding the syndicated distribution of ‘Jeopardy!’ and ‘Wheel of Fortune’,” the companies said in their joint statement. “We look forward to working together to continue bringing these beloved shows to audiences and stations around the world.”
Sony and CBS have been partners on “Wheel” and “Jeopardy” for years, with Sony owning the shows and handling production and CBS overseeing distribution. That oversight split comes from the legacy of how both shows came to be in the modern era: Merv Griffin Prods. created and owned both shows, and were acquired by Columbia Pictures Television (now Sony Pictures TV) in 1986; King World, which bagged syndication rights to Griffin’s “Wheel” in 1983 and “Jeopardy” in 1984, was acquired by CBS in 1999.
That partnership was turned upside down in October 2024, when Sony filed a lawsuit, accusing CBS of self-dealing and failing to maximize revenue from the syndication of both shows. The lawsuit alleged that CBS’s corporate shuffles left it unable to properly distribute the shows, also said Eye’s deals in New Zealand and Australia were unauthorized, and accused CBS of putting its all-owned syndicated series on higher-ranked TV stations than “Wheel” and “Jeopardy” in some markets.
In November 2024, CBS countered, arguing that Sony had created a false pretext to get out of the 42-year-old King World distribution contract. “Sony is trying to get in court what it couldn’t get at the negotiating table: the rights to the Series for free, by finding every excuse it can muster,” the opposing party said.
In February, Sony sent CBS a formal letter announcing that it would take over distribution of “Wheel” and “Jeopardy” to the more than 200 TV stations that syndicate the shows. CBS responded to the stations, claiming that Sony had “no rights” to take over distribution. CBS was also served with a restraining order, preventing Sony from immediately taking over distribution.
“Sony Pictures owns, controls, produces and finances ‘Jeopardy!’ and ‘Wheel of Fortune.’ “In light of CBS’s continued failure to meet its contractual obligations, SPT believes it has lawfully terminated its distribution agreements with CBS for the shows and has accordingly assumed all worldwide distribution functions,” Sony said at the time. CBS responded: “We are pleased that the court has granted a temporary restraining order against Sony’s unlawful actions. We will continue to support ‘Wheel of Fortune’ and ‘Jeopardy!’ continue to spread seamlessly. to our station customers as we have done for more than 40 years.”
But in April, a judge allowed Sony to take over distribution of both shows, ruling that Sony would likely prevail on its claim that CBS failed to meet its contractual obligations. And a week later, CBS regained distribution again after a state appeals court sided with Eye.
Here is the message CBS Media Ventures sent to domestic and international business partners:
On behalf of Sony Pictures Television and CBS Studios Inc. we are pleased to inform you that we have reached an out-of-court settlement in the ongoing lawsuit regarding Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune. While the precise terms of our settlement remain confidential, CBS will remain the exclusive domestic distributor of the shows in syndication and will continue to deliver the shows through the 2027/2028 season. After that, domestic distribution will transfer to SPT. CBS will also expand its role and exclusively manage all advertising sales during the 2029/2030 season. However, the marketing, promotions and affiliate relationships for the shows will transition to SPT at the end of the 2025/2026 season. Furthermore, SPT will continue to manage brand integrations. And the international distribution of the shows will transfer to SPT from December 1, 2025. We look forward to working together to bring these beloved shows to stations and audiences around the world.
