Spike Lee was granted a temporary injunction against the Spike TV name.
NEW YORK -- A Manhattan judge on Thursday granted a petition by filmmaker Spike Lee and ordered Viacom Inc. to temporarily stop using Spike TV as the new name for its TNN network.
State Supreme Court Justice Walter Tolub said he was temporarily enjoining the network from using the name Spike pending a trial on the issue. He ordered Lee to post a $500,000 bond to cover Viacom's losses in case the company wins.
Lee said he sued Viacom to protect his name after he learned that the communications giant planned to change TNN's name to Spike TV on June 16 in what he saw as a deliberate attempt to mislead the public and capitalize on his image and prestige.
Viacom announced in April that it would change TNN's name to Spike TV in an attempt to attract more men to an audience that is already about two-thirds male.
Spike TV, billing itself as "the first network for men," shows reruns of "The A-Team," "Baywatch" and "Miami Vice" and sports entertainment such as pro wrestling, "American Gladiators," "Car and Driver Television" and "Trucks!"
The network also carries an animated series featuring Pamela Anderson as the voice of Stan Lee's "Stripperella," an undercover operative who is also a stripper. [Newsday]
So, a network that is showing things like A-Team, Baywatch, and American Gladiators is trying to mislead the public just by calling the network Spike TV? I heard about this a day or two ago, but I didn't think he'd actually succeed. That's so lame. The judge compared Spike Lee to people like Cher, Madonna, and Sting. Um, and when were any of them called anything different? Sting didn't go by Sting Smith and then shorten it or anything like that. I've never heard Spike Lee called anything but that. Sorry. I don't buy it. IMNSHO, Spike Lee is just being a twit.
The folks who make Spike seasoning should look out. They may be next.
