Channel 20’s parent company apparently hasn’t been paying the fees necessary to air programs such as “The Drew Carey Show,” “Friends,” and “Fresh Prince of Bel Air,” according to tvweek.com citing lawsuits filed in Southern California. KBWB-TV 20, which became an independent last week after the WB network shut down, is owned by Granite Broadcasting. The suits filed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution and Twentieth Television allege Granite has not paid a total of $30.4 million in fees for programs shown on KBWB in SF and WXON in Detroit. Granite has been facing financial problems for the past couple of years and was planning to raise money by sell the two stations to a group led by former KTVU executive Kevin O’Brien. However, the sale of the two stations was called off July 18 when a lender provided Granite enough money to stay out of bankruptcy.
Syndicators sue Ch. 20 for nonpayment
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