January 2, 2014

"A&E messed with the wrong redneck... Phil has agreed to return, but he’s already working on getting out [of] their contracts."

"He’s confident lawyers can find a loophole and get them out of any long-term commitments."
"Phil wants to use his company name Duck Commander as the title for an entirely new show that they can produce themselves and be in control of what goes on."

27 comments:

Sorun said...

an entirely new show that they can produce themselves

Bad idea.

mccullough said...

Sounds like he wants to renegotiate for more $$$. He should be an NFL agent.

Paco Wové said...

The Daily Mail (and Althouse) are just fascinated with this guy.

Ann Althouse said...

I'm reading his autobiography!

pm317 said...


""A&E messed with the wrong redneck... ""

If you watched the show, you know he is no ordinary shriveling redneck spouting biblical inanities. You feel his presence in every scene he is in. He is the big cahuna, big enchilada of that show. He knows A&E is getting rich using him.

Ann Althouse said...

"He knows A&E is getting rich using him."

They're all getting rich together. I think Sorun is right to guess that if the Robertsons got full control of the production, it would not be anywhere near as entertaining.

But maybe they don't care. They want their true expression. They're artists/religionists and they've got plenty of money already.

Skeptical Voter said...

Well is that loophole anticipatory breach on A&E's part when they suspended him?

I don't know, my contract law classes were a long time ago.

But A&E should be careful not to disturb the cash cow. They need Robertson more than he needs them.

pm317 said...

I don't think he cares for money (this money) -- at least that is the impression I get watching him on the show. Sorun is right -- I don't think the show will have the audience or the interest if they had full control of the production. They have butt heads with A&E before on religious content (I read) -- so having control will make it go away is what they may be thinking.

NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...

They're all getting rich together. I think Sorun is right to guess that if the Robertsons got full control of the production, it would not be anywhere near as entertaining.

Don't bet on it. They self-produced a series of successful duck hunting videos that led to a hunting show on the Outdoor channel that ran for two years. They aren't exactly media novices. Besides, preaching to the choir isn't really spreading the Gospel, is it?

Biff said...

Why stop at a new show? Perhaps he could start a new network.

Andy Freeman said...

> I'm reading his autobiography!

According to the GQ interview, Phil said that he's never read said autobiography.

Freeman Hunt said...

Or he wants more control but not all, and this is one negotiating technique.

chickelit said...

Ann Althouse said...
I'm reading his autobiography!

Soon to be serialized here as the "Annals of Phil Robertson."

sunsong said...

I am so good with this. Let the top dog have his top spot. A&E seem to have sold out so who cares about them. I am thinking more along the lines now that more speech, more points of view, (not just two) could be helpful.

Hate speech is not helpful, of course, but if that is where some one lives - we might as well know it, imo.

Bob R said...

MSNBC has founded a whole network on hate speech.

Alex said...

Duck Commander should go subscription model(like Netflix). That way there aren't any ads, no way for liberal pressure groups to boycott. You can't boycott millions of subscribers.

Revenant said...

They aren't worried about boycotts. The boycott threats went nowhere and the handful of companies that caved to them wished they hadn't. It turns out that "fans of redneck duck hunters" and "people who cannot bear to hear anyone say anything bad about homosexuality" are two groups that don't overlap all that much.

Anonymous said...

I hope he moves to The Blaze.

Left Bank of the Charles said...

The old quarterback may have gotten stripped of the ball in that GQ interview. But his family forced A&E to punt, and now he's marching his team down the field.

If you think about it, the only advertiser Phil needs is his own company.

"The Robertson clan have teamed up with Mossberg to create nine different shotguns, as well as two semiautomatic rifles and a semiautomatic pistol.

The shotguns come in a 'waterfowl pattern' camouflage design and Mossberg has already begun shipping them to distributors."

traditionalguy said...

The barrels of the Mossberg shotguns are engraved with three large words, " God Family Faith "

CStanley said...

Ha, I called this one.

iowan2 said...

A lot of comments at the linked article and some here warn of negative financial consequences.

Lots of people just refuse to listen to Robertson's words, or pay attention to their actions. Money is not their motivating force. God, family, church, community.

And to assume that the show, would not be as entertaining, ignores the fact that they were very good marketers, before TV came courting.

A&E should thank their God that Phil didn't literally force them to their knees to apologize.

iowan2 said...

Sunsong said
"A&E seem to have sold out"

Sold out what?? Glaad?
They just exhibited the perfect of example of lip service and placating.

While some people voice support in public, real action does not follow, and the truth is a large swath of Americans just dont spend any time or energy thinking about homosexuals, period.

Oh, and the 'hate speech' meme? That crying wolf tack, is part of Glaad's problem. All but the must ideological blinded gay crowd, searched and failed to find anything Phil said hateful.

Kirk Parker said...


Skeptical,

"A&E need Robertson more than he needs them"

Word.


Rev (@ 7:23pm),

Why should something that's sooooo bleepin' obvious make me LOL!!! Nice work!

TMink said...

Of course A&E has sold out, they are a business. And I think that the Robertsons could do as good a job on their own if they hired the right people. There are plenty of creative people that would want to work with a cash cow like their show.

Trey

grackle said...

Money is not their motivating force.

They were wealthy even before the show. I wonder – what would be their "motivating force" if they were as poor as me?

Not that I in any way endorse the original A&E caving-to-pressure move. I like rednecks a lot more than I like political correctness.

Thorley Winston said...

Two things jumped out at me from the article:

“Phil Robertson feels betrayed by bosses at A&E and is plotting to get his family out of the $200,000 per episode contact they signed last August”

and

“ A&E last week announced that Phil was returning to Duck Dynasty as they moved to protect the show which generated $885 million in 2013

The show raked in $885 million and the entire family gets $200,000 per episode (which comes to $2.2 million for the eleven episodes they did in 2013). To put that in perspective, A&E is paying the Robertson family about one fourth of one percent of the revenue they’re making from Duck Dynasty.

I’d be looking for a better deal as well.