Two & a Half Men in studio legal battle
Charlie Sheen's sitcom is at the centre of a $49 million breach of contract lawsuit between CBS and Warner Bros TV.
- Published by David Knox
- on
- Filed under News
Clearly feeling the spirit of Christmas, Warner Bros. Television filed a $49 million breach of contract lawsuit against CBS on Tuesday, claiming that the network has refused to pay agreed-upon fees for airing Two and a Half Men.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, the suit alleges that for fifth and sixth seasons, CBS agreed to pay WBTV a premium above the initial license fee schedule and reimburse the studio for costs associated with the production of TV’s top-rated comedy. CBS was required to pay more if the show reached specific ratings milestones in its fourth season.
“CBS has reaped the benefits of the tremendous success of Two and a Half Men but wants to deny Warner Bros. the right to its agreed-upon share,” the complaint argues.
CBS took a lighter approach in its response.
“Wow, I wonder what they got the other networks for Christmas,” the network said in a statement Wednesday.
WBTV produces other key series for CBS, including The Mentalist and The Big Bang Theory.
Men is America’s top comedy. It finished last week as the highest-rated entertainment program among adults 18-49.
Source: Hollywood Reporter
Share
- Tagged with The Big Bang Theory, The Mentalist, Two and a Half Men
6 Responses
@craig: i can see your logic but keep in mind that the fall began during ratings, and the fact that 9 has aired it during summer couldn’t have helped. (maybe if it was given a rest people would have missed it and it would have been refreshed in ’09, instead people are just getting sicker and sicker of it)
i’m sure new eps will rate well if the timeslot is good (this year it wasn’t and new eps hovered around 1.1mil, much less than its potential), but reruns have simply lost the power they used to have.
i’m not saying 9 won’t air multiple reruns a week, i’m just saying it would not be smart, and it is 9 we are talking about.
I think the main cause for the low number is summer, if ch9 shows it in re-runs in 09 I will more than likely get about the 1 million mark again.
knoxoverstreet, where did you get 18mil from all sources are saying 13-14mil max. 18mil would make it the US #1show *cringe at thought*
ella, i to hope it gets axed, but as knoxoversteet has stated, unfortunately there are to many people out there with half a brain that like this crap.
on the brighter side, i expect ch9 to cut down on reruns next year (atleast not 10 per week) as they just don’t rate like they used to. they used to get 1.5-1.6 on a wednesday now they struggle to break 900k
With 18m viewers that’s highly unlikely!
CBS needs to tread carefully though as it’s biggest hits are produced by WB.
good, i hope it gets axed
lol. ““Wow, I wonder what they got the other networks for Christmas,” the network said in a statement Wednesday.”