Fight Over UPN Takes on Trappings of Family Feud.WHEN is a custody battle Noun 1. custody battle - litigation to settle custody of the children of a divorced couple judicial proceeding, litigation - a legal proceeding in a court; a judicial contest to determine and enforce legal rights right for television? When it's United Paramount Network, caught between its feuding corporate parents, Viacom Inc. and Chris-Craft Industries Inc. Enough mud is flying to qualify the embattled parties for a TV court show, like Viacom's "Judge Joe Brown" or "Judge Judy." Ostensibly os·ten·si·ble adj. Represented or appearing as such; ostensive: His ostensible purpose was charity, but his real goal was popularity. , the fight is about a money-losing network best known for "WWF See Windows Workflow Foundation. Smackdown!" and "Star Trek: Voyager." But Viacom and Chris-Craft sound like an embittered em·bit·ter tr.v. em·bit·tered, em·bit·ter·ing, em·bit·ters 1. To make bitter in flavor. 2. To arouse bitter feelings in: was embittered by years of unrewarded labor. husband and wife, venting in family court. Chris-Craft sued Viacom last month in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of State Supreme Court, accusing Viacom of breaching its duties to the UPN UPN User Principal Name (Microsoft Windows 2000) UPN United Paramount Network UPN Unión del Pueblo Navarro (Navarrese People Union) UPN Umgekehrte Polnische Notation partnership when it agreed to merge with rival network owner CBS (Cell Broadcast Service) See cell broadcast. Corp. Chris-Craft then asked the court to block the pending Viacom-CBS merger until Jan. 15, 2001, when a non-compete agreement between the UPN partners will expire. A 10-month delay? It's a chilling thought to Viacom and CBS, which hope to complete the $46 billion merger in late March or April. "Certainly this gigantic merger should not be enjoined over this dispute," begged a Viacom attorney in court. But it's happened before. Chris-Craft persuaded a different New York state judge to halt Warner Communications' acquisition of Lorimar Telepictures in 1988 with the argument that the merger violated a pre-existing agreement with Chris-Craft. In fact, Viacom tried to solve the "non-compete" issue by offering to sell its UPN stake or buy out Chris-Craft for $5 million by March 20. Chris-Craft was offended by the paltry offer and filed its lawsuit instead. "Viacom either takes control of UPN on the cheap, after (Christ-Craft subsidiary) BHC BHC benzene hexachloride. BHC, ?-BHC see benzene hexachloride. (Communications Inc.) has sunk over $400 million to help build UPN in reliance on Viacom's promises, or, now that Viacom has a bigger and better network, dumps a weakened UPN and its losses onto BHC," Chris-Craft complained in a court filing. After hearing the arguments, New York State Supreme Justice Herman Cahn agreed to rule by March 20. Stormy marriage Viacom and Chris-Craft had solid reasons for their union: they needed original primetime programming for their independent TV stations, which compete against the local affiliates of older networks like ABC ABC in full American Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. television network. It began when the expanding national radio network NBC split into the separate Red and Blue networks in 1928. , CBS, NBC NBC in full National Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. commercial broadcasting company. It was formed in 1926 by RCA Corp., General Electric Co. (GE), and Westinghouse and was the first U.S. company to operate a broadcast network. and Fox. The mutual needs persist, but the UPN marriage was rocky from the start, according to sworn testimony now emerging in court. Plus, the two have lost a total of $800 million on the venture. Chris-Craft refused to approve UPN's budget for the past two years and has "consistently opposed" its partner's programming and ideas for the venture, according to an affidavit by Kerry McCluggage, chairman of Viacom's Paramount Television group. Chris-Craft has also stonewalled Viacorn's requests to discuss extending their TV stations' affiliation agreements with UPN beyond Jan. 15, 2001, McCluggage said. Viacom and Chris-Craft have each raised the specter that UPN could be harmed or shut down if they don't get their way. The arguments have shifted with time and venue. In November, Viacom told the Federal Communications Commission Federal Communications Commission (FCC), independent executive agency of the U.S. government established in 1934 to regulate interstate and foreign communications in the public interest. that a "hasty" sale of its half-interest in UPN could cause all sorts of problems for Chris-Craft, the network and its affiliated stations. Viacom asked the FCC (1) (Federal Communications Commission, Washington, DC, www.fcc.gov) The U.S. government agency that regulates interstate and international communications including wire, cable, radio, TV and satellite. The FCC was created under the U.S. to allow an extra 24 months to dispose of To determine the fate of; to exercise the power of control over; to fix the condition, application, employment, etc. of; to direct or assign for a use. See also: Dispose its network stake or stations that exceed FCC limits. Niche television Viacom also urged the FCC to waive its rule prohibiting ownership of two broadcast networks. Describing UPN as a "niche service" which has appealed particularly to African Americans, Viacom argued that common ownership of UPN and CBS wouldn't hurt competition. Chris-Craft has also urged the FCC to permit ownership of two TV networks. But in its lawsuit, Chris-Craft now says UPN and CBS are direct competitors and contends that UPN would be disadvantaged if Viacom acquires CBS. Chris-Craft is hostile to Viacom's description of UPN as a "niche" network, insisting that UPN was conceived as a general interest network to compete with the likes of CBS. Chris-Craft appears suspicious of Viacom's plans for UPN, once the CBS merger is complete and CBS President Mel Karmazin becomes Viacom's chief executive. Karmazin has not divulged his plans, but it appears the CBS executive has been courting World Wrestling Federation Entertainment Inc., which already produces UPN's most successful show, "WWF Smackdown!" Karmazin has reportedly proposed an investment of $100 million or more in the WWF, to win cable and broadcast TV rights to its wrestling programming and a new football league that WWF is developing. The idea, apparently, is to put the sports programming on UPN. But if Viacom loses UPN to Chris-Craft, Karmazin may have a contingency plan to sell WWF programs to a syndicate of TV stations nationwide. More wrestling. More football. A contingency plan. Karmazin appears ready for any outcome of the UPN custody battle, short of a 10-month delay to the Viacom-CBS merger. Kathryn Harris is a columnist for Bloomberg News. |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion