Chris Strenkert holds his at the time 17-month-old son Zack as mom Laurie and talk show host Jerry Springer look on during a taping of "The Jerry Springer Show" in Chicago in this Aug. 19, 1996 file photo. The show was to air nationally on Monday, Sept. 16, 1996. "The Jerry Springer Show" arranged for Zack, who weighed 70 lbs., to be treated by a genetic specialist in an attempt to find a cause and a cure for his obesity. At far left is Andrew Strenkert, at the time 7 years old. (AP Photo/Michael Kardis)
British Court Must Watch Jerry Springer
Tuesday, July 18, 2006 2:19 PM EDT
The Associated Press
LONDON (AP) — A British Court of Appeal judge on Tuesday ordered a trial to settle a dispute between distributors of "The Jerry Springer Show" and a company claiming the program became too strong for local tastes.
In effect, the Court of Appeal ordered a Commercial Court judge to watch samples of the show.
Flextech Television, which provides 10 channels of programming for British cable operator NTL Inc., contends that it was entitled to cancel its "Springer" deal with Universal Studios International because it became impossible to air some episodes without violating British broadcasting rules.
Flextech entered into a contract in 1998 which committed it to "Springer" as long as the show was running in the United States. By 2001, Flextech contends, the "vast majority" of episodes contained content which was unsuitable for daytime viewing and which did not comply with the Independent Television Commission code.
Universal insists the content changed little over the years.
In his ruling on Tuesday, Lord Justice David Neuberger referred the case to the Queen's Bench Commercial Division of the High Court for trial.
Neuberger said it was up to a trial judge to decide whether content had changed enough to amount to a breach of contract.
"It must be necessary for the judge who determines such issues to see at least some of the episodes of the two series (although I would strongly encourage the parties to agree a sensible basis upon which the trial judge can reach a conclusion on the two ultimate issues without having to view anything like the totality of all the episodes of both series)," he wrote.
Lawyers say the total runs some 400 hours.
