Friday, November 02, 2007

Show-business writers will go on strike early Monday

I hope it's over quickly! I don't want to see them cancel any of the new shows that I like because of it.

Show-business writers will go on strike early Monday after their negotiating team recommended a walkout over royalties that could immediately pinch late-night TV shows.

The Writers Guild of America board voted unanimously to strike as of 12:01 a.m. Monday (3:01 a.m. ET), officials said.

The walkout will be the first in 20 years.

Steve Skrovan, a screenwriter for the Fox show "'Til Death," said a strike is all but inevitable.

"We've never been more united and we are willing to deal -- and our decision-makers are at the table," said Skrovan.

"Their decision-makers are not at the table and that tells you pretty much all you need to know about how the companies are pushing this."

[...]

The labor impasse is over royalties from DVD sales -- last negotiated in 1988.

Writers also want royalties from "new media" -- all the various places their works are now distributed, including Internet downloads.

[...]

But networks would have to resort to reruns, news programs and reality shows to fill the schedule in 2008 if a strike were to drag on.
The last strike lasted 5 1/2 months.