When will Sony allow for Seasons 6-8 of The Donna Reed Show to be broadcast again?

[TMC]

I recently read that Donna Reed's estate owns the rights to Seasons 1-5 while Sony owns the rights to Seasons 6-8. The estate has released and rereleased the seasons they own on disc. Sony however, has seen no reason to break their seasons out of the vault. Is it likely because Sony doesn't see it as a moneymaker?

[Duster76]

Originally Posted by TMC

I recently read that Donna Reed's estate owns the rights to Seasons 1-5 while Sony owns the rights to Seasons 6-8. The estate has released and rereleased the seasons they own on disc. Sony however, has seen no reason to break their seasons out of the vault. Is it likely because Sony doesn't see it as a moneymaker?

The first question is an obvious one, what was the sell through on the last rerelease of seasons 1-5, if that release was not successful it's unlikely any entity (Reed's estate or Sony) would have an interest in further releases. There is also speculation on additional complications surrounding the ownership of the final three seasons. Apparently Sony does have considerable ownership interest, but there seems to be other players at the table. Bob Crane's estate may have an interest, although I find that unlikely, Reed's estate may have an interest, this seems more plausible. When Reed and Owen sold out to Screen Gems after season 5 they may have retained rights to the Bob Crane appearances as the character of Dr. Kelsey for the purposes of spinning that character off into his own series. I believe this is the reason rerun packages do not include episodes from seasons 6 and 7. It's unlikely that Sony sees much of a point in dealing with these complications
leaving it up to the Reed estate to possibly purchase the rights to seasons 6-8. That leads us back to my original point, how well did the rerelease do, if the sell through performed well then there might be some hope, if not the issue may never be settled.

[stevea]

Originally Posted by Duster76

The first question is an obvious one, what was the sell through on the last rerelease of seasons 1-5, if that release was not successful it's unlikely any entity (Reed's estate or Sony) would have an interest in further releases. There is also speculation on additional complications surrounding the ownership of the final three seasons. Apparently Sony does have considerable ownership interest, but there seems to be other players at the table. Bob Crane's estate may have an interest, although I find that unlikely, Reed's estate may have an interest, this seems more plausible. When Reed and Owen sold out to Screen Gems after season 5 they may have retained rights to the Bob Crane appearances as the character of Dr. Kelsey for the purposes of spinning that character off into his own series. I believe this is the reason rerun packages do not include episodes from seasons 6 and 7. It's unlikely that Sony sees much of a point in dealing with these complications
leaving it up to the Reed estate to possibly purchase the rights to seasons 6-8. That leads us back to my original point, how well did the rerelease do, if the sell through performed well then there might be some hope, if not the issue may never be settled.

It's really plausible that there are legal complications with seasons 6 thru 8, which would make it likely those seasons won't see a home video release.

Based on the evidence it also seems likely that the time that Bob Crane was a regular is somehow involved in the legal issues. He made a couple of guest appearances in season 5, which are aired in syndication. He became a regular for seasons 6 and 7 (possibly a recurring character in season 6), and those seasons are not syndicated by Sony. Sony does syndicate season 8, probably by some special arrangement with Weigel Broadcasting. However, an episode with Crane which is part of season 8 (held over from season 7; he left the show after season 7) is shelved and not aired. Music rights for season 8 must have also expired, since a few episodes which include musical performances are also withheld (the most obvious one being the series finale with performances by Lesley Gore).