A media consultant claims he was the brains behind the deal to sell Current TV to Al Jazeera, and that former Vice President Al Gore double-crossed him and potentially cost him big profits.
John Terenzio filed a lawsuit Tuesday against Mr. Gore in San Francisco Superior Court, seeking at least $5 million. Al Jazeera announced in January it had bought the network for $500 million.
Mr. Terenzio alleges that he conceived the idea of distributing an Americanized version of the foreign newscast and that Mr. Gore initially shot it down. He later had a “change of heart” and went forward with the deal — but without Mr. Terenzio, the suit charges.
Mr. Terenzio says in the suit that he was the creator of the American version of China Central Television and in 2011 approached Al Jazeera with a plan to similarly broaden its market, called “Path to U.S. Distribution,” according to the Hollywood Reporter. Mr. Terenzio identified Current TV as a possible path.
Mr. Terenzio outlined his plan to various Current TV executives, making clear “that [he] would be compensated if Current TV utilized his idea to consummate a sale to Al Jazeera,” the lawsuit states.
In January, Mr. Gore announced the sale of Current TV to Al Jazeera — but Mr. Terenzio was not part of that deal. He is suing over breach of an implied contract, the Hollywood Reporter says.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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