A&E tries to quash 'Storage Wars' lawsuit
The network has repeatedly denied suggestions the show is faked, and wants a court to reject a suit claiming otherwise.
A&E Television Networks, which is owned Walt Disney (DIS), Hearst Corp. and Comcast (CMCSA), Tuesday asked a California court to throw out a lawsuit filed by a former cast member that claimed its hit show "Storage Wars" was rigged. According to the New York Daily News, A&E is trying to get a judge to quash David Hester's lawsuit on procedural grounds. Hester's accusation that the show was rigged was not addressed, though A&E has repeatedly denied suggestions that the show is faked. Hester, known for yelling "yup" when he bids, has alleged that A&E fired him when he refused to go along with the charade.
Hester's lawsuit, which seeks $2.2 million in damages, comes as A&E tries to expand its "Storage Wars" franchise with shows in Texas and New York. Rivals including Spike TV and truTv also have storage auction shows on their schedules.
"Storage Wars", which follows the adventures of a group of people in Southern California who purchase items abandoned in storage units, attracts about 4 million viewers on a weekly basis, making it one of the most popular shows on cable. The ratings are so strong that Entertainment Weekly wondered whether fans care if the show was faked, especially since other hit reality shows such as "Breaking Amish" and "The Hills" blurred the line between fact and fantasy.
One thing that is real about "Storage Wars" is the impact it has had on the storage industry. Attendance at auctions, which were once pretty sleepy affairs has skyrocketed because of the show, as have prices the goods are fetching. Being a storage warrior, however, is much harder than it looks. For one thing, most of the goods in units are mundane household items. A fair number have drugs and pornography.
While buyers do "score" some cool stuff on occasion, that is the exception rather than the rule. Most people have the sense to remove their valuables from a locker if they have fallen behind on the rent.
--Jonathan Berr doesn't think the "Storage Wars" will be the same without Dave Hester. He doesn't own shares of the listed stocks. Follow him on Twitter @jdberr.
More on moneyNOW
| Tags: | EntertainmentTelevision |
Seems like everything on cable is "reality" shows. Storage Wars? Wicked Tuna? Epic Conditions? Pawn Stars? Ice Road Truckers? Swamp People? All of them are fake, and they're playing to people who, apparently, wish that they had a life.
I used to watch the History Channel, which is now "The Pawn Star Channel", but there isn't anything of value on History anymore. A&E and Discovery became wastelands of reality shows years ago. The Science Channel is moving in that direction. And, when I'd like to get a good weather forecast, The Weather Channel is showing some stupid reality show, too.
Do the folks running these channels believe that all its audience wants is this pablum? I'm ready to dump cable.
As a personal property appraiser, I have sifted through the contents of hundreds of storage lockers.
There are two problems with the show - one is that ratio of winners to losers (assuming a purchase price of about $1000) is about 1/8 winners, with the rest costing not only what you spent on the locker, but also what is costs to make it go away. The second is that the values the buyers place on the items they uncover is just absurdly high. It's good entertainment, but not particularly "real"
I used to watch it when it first started. I got really sick of Dave. Don't like him at all. Thinks he's better than everybody else.
I don't watch any of the reality shows anymore. Never watched Swamp people or whatever it's called. Stupid with all them ugly beards. Only seen commercials and that's enough for me.
DATA PROVIDERS
Copyright © 2013 Microsoft. All rights reserved.
Quotes are real-time for NASDAQ, NYSE and AMEX. See delay times for other exchanges.
Fundamental company data and historical chart data provided by Thomson Reuters (click for restrictions). Real-time quotes provided by BATS Exchange. Real-time index quotes and delayed quotes supplied by Interactive Data Real-Time Services. Fund summary, fund performance and dividend data provided by Morningstar Inc. Analyst recommendations provided by Zacks Investment Research. StockScouter data provided by Verus Analytics. IPO data provided by Hoover's Inc. Index membership data provided by SIX Financial Information.
Japanese stock price data provided by Nomura Research Institute Ltd.; quotes delayed 20 minutes. Canadian fund data provided by CANNEX Financial Exchanges Ltd.
RECENT POSTS
Local eateries pledge to feed the Cleveland man who helped rescue 3 kidnap victims. McDonald's, however, has remained mum.
- Shotgun wedding for Saks and Neiman Marcus?
- Yum aims to fatten up by doubling Taco Bell sales
- Mike Bloomberg's next career: Taxi magnate?
- Oklahoma senators change tune on disaster relief
- At software giant SAP, autism is an asset
- Target blames weather for soggy results
- Chick-fil-A thrown back into gay marriage debate
- Oklahoma tornado losses could top $2 billion
- Apple's stock is slipping, but its brand value isn't
MARKET UPDATE
[BRIEFING.COM] The major averages hover near their recent levels with the S&P 500 leading to the downside (-0.6%). The Dow and Nasdaq trade ahead of the benchmark average, but the two indices have returned into the red after making a brief appearance in positive territory.
Cyclical sectors continue to pressure the broader market with financials down 1.0%.
Notably, gold futures have strengthened. The yellow metal trades higher by 1.8% at $1392.50. Nasdaq -12.52 at ... More
More Market News
TOP STOCKS
The business process management company has meanwhile managed to reduce its dependence on former parent GE.
MSN MONEY'S
- Shared
- Commented
- Viewed
