Tag Archives: Sony Pictures Television

Entertainment

Sony Sues CBS Over ‘Jeopardy,’ ‘Wheel of Fortune’ Syndication Deals

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Sony Footage Tv is suing CBS, claiming that the latter has did not dwell as much as its contract to distribute Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune in syndication.

Sony produces the 2 long-running sport reveals, that are perennially among the many most-watched syndicated applications on broadcast TV. The go well with, filed Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Courtroom, alleges that CBS hasn’t held up its finish of a contract to distribute the 2 reveals to native TV stations in the USA and entered into unauthorized distribution offers abroad.

“As said in our criticism, CBS has been egregiously undercutting the worth and profitability of those reveals in favor of its personal self-interest,” Sony mentioned in a press release. “CBS has pocketed tens of millions in distribution charges from unauthorized offers, licensed the reveals domestically effectively under market worth, and favored its wholly-owned reveals in promoting gross sales and distribution, amongst different issues. Additional CBS has gutted the groups liable for fulfilling its contractual obligations, requiring us to step in at our personal expense. After repeated makes an attempt to resolve this matter amicably, we’re left with no alternative however to take authorized motion at this time.”

In a press release of its personal, CBS mentioned that “For greater than 40 years, CBS and its predecessor firm King World have been completed distribution companions and considerate stewards for Wheel and Jeopardy! within the syndication market. This work has helped construct reveals into franchises, remodel common collection into cultural icons and ship Sony billions of {dollars} of income. Our contract is obvious that we maintain the distribution rights to those collection in perpetuity. We strongly refute any claims by Sony that we didn’t use our greatest efforts in distributing the applications or in any other case did not abide by our obligations below the agreements. Sony’s claims are rooted within the truth they merely don’t just like the deal the events agreed to a long time in the past. We sit up for vigorously defending this lawsuit in court docket.”

Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! have every been airing in syndication for greater than 40 years, and Sony’s distribution agreements with CBS and its predecessors (CBS purchased the reveals’ authentic distributor, King World, in 1999) date again to the early Eighties as effectively. Below the deal, CBS’ syndication arm, CBS Media Ventures, licenses the reveals to native stations and sells nationwide promoting spots in change for 35 % to 40 % of receipts.

Sony claims that CBS has did not dwell as much as its contractual obligation to make its “finest efforts” to make these receipts as giant as doable. The criticism states that CBS has licensed the reveals at below-market charges and did not max out potential advert income from the 2 reveals. Sony additionally alleges that CBS entered into unauthorized distribution agreements in Australia, New Zealand and different worldwide territories that exceeded the contractual restrict of two years — and says CBS Media Ventures admitted as a lot in 2023 — however hasn’t turned over any receipts from these agreements.

Sony, which is in search of financial damages, additionally says that latest layoffs at CBS dad or mum Paramount World have adversely affected the models tasked with distributing, advertising and advert gross sales for the 2 sport reveals, additional proscribing CBS’ potential to carry up its finish of the contract.

A replica of Sony’s criticism is under.

Oct. 31, 2 p.m. Up to date with CBS assertion on the authorized motion.

Entertainment

Chris Gethard, Scott Aukerman Among Wave of Sony First-Look Deals

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Sony Footage Tv is widening the artistic circle — by loads — in its comedy division.

The studio has signed first-look offers with 9 writers and comics — Scott Aukerman, Karen Chee, Shaun Diston, Chris Garcia, Chris Gethard, Lisa Gilroy, Lacey Jeka, Julie Klausner and Alok Vaid-Menon. They’ll all work on creating new comedy collection initiatives and doubtlessly collaborate with different writers and producers who’ve offers at Sony.

Lauren Stein, head of artistic at Sony Footage TV, and Colin Davis, govt vp comedy growth, mentioned the offers are a part of an effort on the studio to usher in what Davis calls a “spectrum of sensibilities” to comedy growth.

“The record is a collective of a special creators and multihyphenates that we consider every have distinctive voices and a success present in them,” Davis mentioned in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “They actually signify the comedy group at massive, and we’re excited that we get to be the third-party studio that will get to promote what their visions are to a wide range of locations.”

Stein informed THR that the offers are additionally a sign to “come play” on the studio: “It’s our means of claiming, ‘Come right here.’ You’re not tied down right here as a result of it’s only a first look. You continue to have the flexibleness to work at different locations, employees on different exhibits. However carry us these ardour initiatives. Convey us the concept you don’t suppose you possibly can get one other studio to do. Due to our independence, we now have probably the most flexibility, and also you’ll get probably the most freedom in your creativity.”

High row: Alok Vaid-Menon, Chris Garcia, Karen Chee. Backside row: Lacey Jeka, Shaun Diston, Lisa Gilroy

Celeste Sloman; Kim Newmoney; Bridget Badore (2); Eleanore Woods; Kristina Ruddick

The 9 individuals on this wave of offers are a mixture of extra established writers and performers like Gethard (The Chris Gethard Present), Aukerman (Comedy Bang! Bang!) and Klausner (Troublesome Individuals, Schmigadoon!), and up-and-comers like Vaid-Menon (Netflix’s Gender Agenda comedy particular) and actor-writers Gilroy and Jeka (who, by the way, have labored with Aukerman and Gethard, respectively, up to now). Chee is a three-time Emmy nominee as a part of the Late Night time With Seth Meyers writing employees; Diston has penned episodes of Peacock’s Twisted Steel and Hulu’s Woke; and Garcia is a author and co-producer on Sony and Fox’s new animated collection Common Primary Guys.

After signing the first-looks, the writers have been inspired to satisfy and speak with different writers and producers who’re based mostly at Sony. “For us, it’s vital for the artistic course of for individuals to satisfy and speak — you don’t know the place an thought goes to return from,” mentioned Stein. “A producer might have an thought {that a} author has a really particular connection to — you solely be taught these issues by having individuals meet.”

Davis additionally famous that Gethard has already began working with Jessi Klein (Lifeless to Me, Massive Mouth), who has an current deal at Sony, on an thought.

Like most different studios, Sony has lately pushed to mine its IP library for reboots and updates on titles like CBS’ SWAT and Netflix/Pop TV’s One Day at a Time. The incoming writers — all of whom have fairly particular sensibilities — might be free to provide you with new takes on Sony-owned properties, however they’ll even be inspired to develop authentic concepts.

“It’s not a transfer away from [IP],” Stein mentioned of the brand new offers. “I believe it’s only a broadening out. There’s no mandate, so when you’ve got an authentic thought, nice. In case you have an thought that’s based mostly on current IP that we now have, that’s OK too. We don’t inform those who it’s a must to be authentic or it’s a must to base it on one thing.”

Entertainment

Sony, Eleventh Hour in Deal With Tobi Olujinmi Black, Female TV Label

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Sony Photos Tv (SPT) and Eleventh Hour Movies (Magpie Murders), during which SPT owns a majority stake, have struck a first-look take care of Tobi Olujinmi’s Black female-led scripted tv label Hill 5.14 Media.

Olujinmi, a producer and former growth producer at Eleventh Hour, launched Hill 5.14 in late 2022 as a “scripted TV and audio label, producing distinctive ‘gentle on a hill’ content material for international audiences.”

Calling it “a house for excellent various tales” and “a vacation spot of a number of the greatest black British expertise,” SPT stated Friday that “by means of its first 12 months and a half Hill 5.14 has established itself as an rising artistic power within the business with a number of funded and superior developments throughout each U.Ok. and worldwide networks and streaming platforms.”

The label has collaborated with such writers as Phoebe Okeowo (The Energy), Bella Heesom (Intercourse Training), Victoria Asare-Archer (Lacking You) and Thara Poopla (Intercourse Training). “The corporate’s bold however genuine strategy to storytelling has attracted onscreen expertise together with Weruche Opia (I Could Destroy You), Adelayo Adebayo (The Responder) and Adjoa Andoh (Bridgerton), who additionally fronts the Hill 5.14 produced podcast Uncover Me,” SPT stated.

Eleventh Hour may have a first-look choice to co-develop and co-produce TV initiatives on the Hill 5.14 slate, with SPT performing because the distributor for these initiatives.

“I’m past thrilled to be working with Sony Photos and EHF for the following section of Hill 5.14’s journey. It’s the dream workforce,” stated Olujinmi, founder and govt producer of Hill 5.14. “Their joint experience, expertise and observe document of delivering distinctive drama will assist in constructing Hill 5.14 as a worldwide manufacturing firm.”

Paula Cuddy, co-CEO and artistic director of Eleventh Hour, and Eve Gutierrez, the agency’s co-CEO and govt producer, added: “From the second we met Tobi, we beloved her dynamic outlook, enterprise, and artistic sensibilities. Instinctively we knew she’d do all she might as a producer to make issues occur.”

Matthew Justice, govt vp, head of U.Ok. & Europe at SPT, stated: “Telling tales which have the capability to open eyes, showcase expertise, and join with audiences the world over is what we love at Sony Photos, and Tobi has constructed an organization in Hill 5.14 which has shortly develop into a house for excellent expertise.”

Entertainment

Spider Society’ Show Dead at Amazon

The writing was mainly on the wall for this one.

Amazon’s Marvel drama Silk: Spider Society — from producers Sony Footage Tv — is not shifting ahead on the streamer. Sources say Sony TV, which owns rights to a fraction of the Marvel universe that options greater than 900 characters, plans to buy the drama sequence from former Strolling Lifeless showrunner Angela Kang. Kang, who departed her pact with AMC for what sources say is an eight-figure cope with Amazon, stays housed on the streamer and can proceed to develop tasks for the corporate.

Reps for Amazon and Sony declined to remark.

The choice to scrap Silk comes a mere two days after Amazon, throughout its first in-person pitch to Madison Avenue advert patrons, introduced a Sony-produced Marvel sequence Noir, starring Nicolas Cage.

Noir, like Silk, is poised to launch first on Amazon’s linear community, MGM+, earlier than debuting on the streamer. Each reveals are exec produced by Phil Lord, Chris Miller and Amy Pascal (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse) and conceived as half of a bigger suite of live-action reveals based mostly on the Sony Footage universe of Marvel characters.

Plans for the interconnected Marvel slate of Sony reveals stays in place, sources say, although solely Noir can be a part of that now except one other purchaser for Silk emerges. It’s unclear if Sony may store Silk to Disney, which owns the remainder of the MCU and has discovered huge success with its shared universe of movies and TV reveals.

Silk, which was formally introduced in November 2022, was poised to reopen its writers room in January of this yr after hitting pause for the Writers Guild of America strike. The delayed room re-opening — which triggered a warning for Amazon and Sony from the WGA — got here after the studio and streamer used the strike to judge work that had already been accomplished for Silk.

Silk was based mostly on characters created by Dan Slott and Humberto Ramos. The sequence was impressed by the Marvel comics and follows Cindy Moon, a Korean-American lady bitten by the identical spider that bit Peter Parker, as she escapes imprisonment and searches for her lacking household on her strategy to changing into the superhero often known as Silk. The present was to be one of many first to function a Korean-American superhero at its heart.

For his or her half, Lord and Miller moved their general deal from Disney’s twentieth Tv to Sony in April 2019 and, as a part of the nine-figure pact, have been handed management of the studio’s Marvel slate. Sony retains rights to characters together with Spider-Man (and all his villains, like Inexperienced Goblin); Venom (the Tim Hardy movies); Morbius (i.e. the live-action function with Jared Leto); and Black Cat and Silver Sable (each beforehand in growth on the function aspect). Choose TV tasks associated to Sony’s Marvel characters can be produced in partnership with former Sony Footage Leisure co-chairman Pascal. Additionally probably on the desk: all of the characters from Into the Spider-Verse.

Entertainment

Sony’s Film and TV Unit Sees Full Year 2023 Profit Slip to $808M

Sony Footage Leisure’s full fiscal-year 2023 working earnings fell to $808 million from $894 million in greenback phrases, with gross sales creeping up barely to $10.32 billion from $10.14 billion.

SPE contains movement footage, tv productions and media networks, and the fiscal-year 2023 efficiency of these three segments was impacted by the twin Hollywood strikes.

Sony’s fiscal 12 months ended March 31, 2024, and in that interval, Movement Footage unit income amounted to $3.74 billion, up from $3.44 billion from a 12 months in the past. SPE launched 17 movies in the course of the interval together with Insidious: The Pink Door, Love Once more, The Pope’s Exorcist, The Machine, Spider-Man: Throughout the Spider-Verse, No Laborious Emotions, Gran Turismo, The Equalizer 3, Thanksgiving, Dumb Cash, Napoleon, Anybody However You and Madame Net.

In Sony’s fiscal fourth quarter, the movie division noticed working earnings of $208 million, up from the $119 million within the year-ago quarter. Within the newest quarter, the movie division benefitted from the efficiency of the Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell rom-com Anybody However You that proved to be an enormous success on the field workplace, turning into one of many studio’s prime earners in fiscal 2023 making $218 million on the world field workplace. Nonetheless, the quarter additionally noticed the discharge of the Sony/Marvel title Madame Net, which was panned by critics — the movie boasts a dreary 11 % Rotten Tomatoes critics rating — that was one other field workplace misfire for the studio’s makes an attempt to develop its Spider-Man universe after the equally panned 2022 launch Morbius.

With a manufacturing price range of just below $100 million, Madame Net had an underwhelming six-day opening of $25.8 million and made a complete of $100 million on the world field workplace. Within the fourth quarter, Sony movies on launch included the Biblical epic The E-book of Clarence ($6 million of gross sales on the field workplace) and the franchise film Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire ($109 million for the times counted inside the fourth quarter).

Tv productions noticed FY 2023 income of $3.806 billion, down from $3.982 billion. Within the fourth quarter, tv productions noticed income climb to $961 million from $883 million within the earlier quarter. SPE’s tv operation contains present hits reminiscent of Netflix’s The Crown, Apple TV+’s For All Mankind, Disney+’s Goosebumps, Amazon Prime Video’s The Wheel of Time and Gen V in addition to long-running hits reminiscent of Days of Our Lives, Jeopardy! and its numerous spinoffs and Shark Tank.

FY 2023 income at Sony’s Recreation & Community Companies division, a separate entity to SPE and which encompasses PlayStation {hardware} and software program gross sales in addition to the PlayStation Community, hit $27.293 billion, up from $23.419 billion. Sony revealed that it offered 20.8 million PlayStation 5 items in FY 2023 (it offered 19.1 million PS5s in FY 2022). Sony additionally revealed it now has 118 million month-to-month lively customers on the PlayStation Community.

Sony’s music division noticed its FY 2023 working earnings hit $1.93 billion, up from $1.68 billion, on income of $10.19 billion, up from $8.72 billion. Quarterly income climbed to $2.70 billion from $2.67 billion.