Judge Judy Hints at Friction With CBS Amid Move to Streaming

Judge Judy is taking her gavel from broadcast to streaming amid friction with CBS and is now opening up about why. 

The esteemed judge, whose real name is Judy Sheindlin, is known for her hit show, "Judge Judy," which aired in 1996. The show was a massive success but there was friction between her and CBS toward the end, according to The Wall Street Journal.

At issue is an incident in 2015 when she negotiated with CBS to secure ownership of past episodes starting from 2017. Tension arose when, after shopping the episodes around to other companies in an effort to test their value, CBS bought them for $99 million. The studio then sold multiple years' worth of reruns off to TV stations. 

"They have decided to monetize their 'Judge Judy' library of reruns. I wish them good luck with their experiment," Sheindlin said in a statement.

The second blow came when CBS put her second courtroom show, "Hot Bench," on the backburner, instead favoring "The Drew Barrymore Show." It was not due to a lack of success.

"Hot Bench" averaged 2.3 million viewers, compared with 719,000 for "The Drew Barrymore Show," according to Fox News. Despite this, the studio moved Sheindlin's show to its secondary channels while bumping the "Drew Barrymore Show" to front and center. Speaking about the decision, Sheindlin slammed CBS.

"You disrespected my creation," she said of the handling of her show. "And you were wrong. Not only in disrespecting my creation, but your gamble in what you put in its place."

Now Sheindlin is moving over to Amazon-owned IMDb TV. The split with CBS, she said, was reminiscent of Bill and Melinda Gates' own split.

“We had a nice marriage," she said. "It’s going to be a Bill and Melinda Gates divorce."

CBS addressed the move in a statement to The Wall Street Journal. 

"We have had an incredibly successful relationship with Judy over the last 25 years,” CBS Media Ventures president Steve LoCascio said. "It has been an honor representing her show, and just like there has never been another Oprah, there will never be another Judge Judy."

Judy, who earned a reported $47 million per season, admitted that her compensation had not been a secret, which meant Amazon had an idea of what to expect. 

"It's been out there for a long time – not by me, but it got out there and had its own life," she said. "So, the folks at Amazon understood what the parameters were. There was no issue."

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