Appeals court finds in favor of CBS in ‘Jeopardy!,’ ‘Wheel’ distribution battle

After a ruling favoring Sony over the rights to distribute “Wheel of Fortune” and “Jeopardy!,” an appeals court has now seen things CBS’s way.

A Los Angeles Superior Court denied CBS Media Ventures’ request for a temporary injunction to halt Sony Pictures Television from taking over distributing rights to the show April 10, 2025.

CBS vowed to appeal and the case was then heard by a three-member panel of judges, who sided with CBS, meaning the distribution and select advertising sales for the syndicated versions of the game shows will go back to CBS Media Ventures, reversing the April 10 decision for now. It is not clear what Sony’s next steps may be.

In the lawsuit that triggered the tiff, Sony alleges that CBS violated multiple parts of its agreement, while CBS said it is “mostly” in compliance.

SPT took over distribution and ad sales for the shows in February 2025. 

Sony has significant reasons to prefer an in-house syndication model. It’s already said it’s going to sell next-day streaming rights to the show, likely starting before the end of the year. When its current U.S. syndication deals expire in 2028, the company has said that same-day rights could be sold to a streamer.