Sony email leaks, or how the NFL picked the wrong producer to mess with

[Thunder]

Someone with more first-hand knowledge can answer, but I'm pretty sure it's been mentioned that contestants are sometimes briefed that a certain category must be taken top-to-bottom. This wouldn't be too much different.

That has been mentioned here before.

[Neumms]

Remember, Harry Friedman making a big deal about Jeopardy and Wheel being pre-empted is an entirely different thing than when Brian Henke does it.  He did everything right -- fighting fiercely for his properties, while keeping it out of the public eye. 

If he really wanted to make a stink, he could have left the million-dollar win as the Thursday episode. He could have promoted the hell out of it, watch it get pre-empted, then watch for the uproar. He was more diplomatic than that, though.

I was surprised CBS ran that half-hour of pregame. They could have left in on NFL Network and start coverage at 8 eastern, which included 20 minutes of pregame anyway.

[Matt Ottinger]

Hmm, I'm not so sure they would tell the contestants ahead of time. Is there anything in the rules about round length? Seems like it can be arbitrary, but does that go against S&P?

Someone with more first-hand knowledge can answer, but I'm pretty sure it's been mentioned that contestants are sometimes briefed that a certain category must be taken top-to-bottom. This wouldn't be too much different.

I've shared first-hand that this is what happened in my game.  There was one category that featured visual images, and we were told that we had to take that category from top to bottom.  Something about how their server was loaded.  I can't say whether they still do that or not.

[MSTieScott]

In this recent episode, video clues were taken out of order ($400; $600; $1,000; $800), so I assume that they've updated their technology to be able to handle contestant bouncing.

[colonial]

Bumping this up to note that CBS will do Thursday Night Football again in 2015, so expect more producer wars down the road ...

http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2015/01/18/cbs-and-nfl-to-continue-thursday-night-football-partnership-for-2015-season/351537/

[PYLdude]

Why couldn't CBS just say to Harry, "if you've got a problem, go find yourself another distributor?" I would think that'd be their biggest bargaining chip.

[TLEberle]

Why couldn't CBS just say to Harry, "if you've got a problem, go find yourself another distributor?"

Because then they lose whatever money they get carrying Jeopardy. And I'm guessing that's a large-ish sum these days.

[PYLdude]

Why couldn't CBS just say to Harry, "if you've got a problem, go find yourself another distributor?"

Because then they lose whatever money they get carrying Jeopardy. And I'm guessing that's a large-ish sum these days.

But couldn't they say "we've got other properties that we can use to absorb whatever potential hit losing Jeopardy, and by association Wheel, would do to our bottom line?" if it came to that?

[clemon79]

But couldn't they say "we've got other properties that we can use to absorb whatever potential hit losing Jeopardy, and by association Wheel, would do to our bottom line?" if it came to that?

If they in fact do, sure. But it's way more complicated than that: not only do you have to have other properties, but you have to cover the loss of WoF and J! *and* still pull in whatever you would pulled in from those properties in the first place, and all you have to do that with are whatever resources you are currently applying to WoF and J!. And if they have properties that they think they can do *that* with...well, they'd find a way to get the resources they need to accomplish that now.