Pugilist sked shift
Fox lands body blow with early 'Champ'
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Instead of Sept. 10, "The Next Great Champ" now will premiere Sept. 7 -- opposite Katzenberg's other new fall show on NBC, animated skein "Father of the Pride."
Fox intends to keep "Champ" in the Tuesday slot permanently.
Scheduling change marked the latest round in the intensifying legal battle set off last week when Katzenberg and Burnett filed suit in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleging Fox and the producers of "Champ" broke numerous state laws governing the sport of boxing in order to rush the show onto the air before "Contender."
"Contender," which is still in production, isn't skedded to premiere until November. Katzenberg and Burnett say Fox blatantly stole the idea for the series after they pitched it to Fox. Ultimately, the producing duo went with NBC.
Katzenberg and Burnett want the court to enjoin "Champ," produced by Endemol USA and Lock & Key, from airing.
After hearing from both sides at an Aug. 17 hearing, Judge Linda Lefkowitz declined to grant a temporary restraining order stopping the show, but did say she would consider whether to issue a preliminary injunction following a Sept. 8 hearing. Such an injunction would shelve the show.
Fox was obligated to inform the court of any scheduling change for "Champ" and did so Thursday night, which led to a hurriedly called hearing Friday before Superior Court Judge Lisa Hart Cole in Beverly Hills. Fox said it was changing the date for competitive reasons, not because of the suit.
"During the hearing held Aug. 17, Fox and the producers of 'The Next Great Champ' were completely forthcoming with the court that an airdate change was under consideration for reasons entirely unrelated to 'The Contender' lawsuit. Court transcripts will show that we requested an earlier date for the preliminary injunction hearing in order to accommodate this possibility," Fox spokesman Scott Grogin said.
But "Contender" producers said the decision to resked "Champ" to Sept. 7 was highly suspicious, considering the court had set the injunction hearing for Sept. 8.
During the court session Friday, attorneys for "Contender" said Fox shouldn't be allowed to change the date, but Cole disagreed.
Cole, however, did set a hearing for Aug. 27 to determine whether it would violate Fox's First Amendment rights to stop the show from being aired, even if boxing laws had been broken in the course of taping the series.
If she decides it wouldn't be a constitutional violation, she will hold a hearing on the morning of Sept. 7 -- just 12 hours before "Champ" is to premiere -- to decide whether to issue the injunction.
Also at a Sept. 7 hearing, Hart would consider any actions taken in the matter during a Sept. 3 meeting of the California State Athletic Commission.
In a scathing report issued earlier this month just after his term expired, former Athletic Commission chair Sanford Michelman said "Champ" producers had willfully violated rules and regs governing boxing. The commission has not acted upon that report.
DreamWorks spokesman Andy Spahn said the judge's decision to hold an Aug. 27 hearing, and possibly another hearing on Sept. 7, shows that the court takes seriously both the lawsuit and the Michelman report.
"The court wouldn't have moved the hearing if it didn't find the charges compelling," Spahn said.
On Friday, Judge Cole granted a request by Fox lawyers allowing the net to see documents relating to any communication between Michelman and the "Contender" team.
