[July 4th]

And this is waaaaaay beyond negligence. This is knowing, willful, malicious, etc. You can't waiver you way out of that.

Bingo. The station's insurers will settle for a significant portion of the policy limits, perhaps the entire policy limit. No attorney is dumb enough to let this case get to a jury, not with the sort of things that would make it into evidence.

[Kryptonite]

Maybe they'll settle, but only if they lose a motion for summary judgment based on the release. Parties to a contract can waive their right to sue if the other is negligent, but the release must be specific as to that point. I haven't seen anything that suggests the station targeted the decedent more for her own demise than any other contestant, and I'm not sure even that would get the station past summary judgment.