It's official: film and TV writers strike on Monday
TV and film writers will officially go on strike starting Monday at 12:01 PST, a spokeswoman for the Writers Guild of America said on Friday.
As the weekend may bring more negotiating between the guild and the group representing film and TV producers, one of the main sticking points is Internet revenue, according to a story published Thursday in The Wall Street Journal.
The writers want a share of ad revenue generated by online broadcasts of TV shows. Producers insist that the Web is more of a promotional tool and hasn't brought in much money.
The dispute comes as TV networks and cable channels are posting more and more shows to the Web soon after they appear on television. For example, NBC Universal and News Corp. last week launched a test version of Hulu.com, a new online video outlet where full-length TV shows from both companies appear.
ABC, CBS, and Viacom have steadily increased the number of offerings online in recent months. Feature films are still too big to distribute easily over the Web, but it's generally believed technology improvements will likely solve those problems. The writers want assurances that when that happens they will share in the profits.
The writers say they're trying to avoid missing out on Internet money in the same way they missed out on the DVD bonanza that has fueled much of the growth in the film industry over the last decade.
The writers agreed to a deal soon after the mass adoption of the VCR that eventually earned them 4 cents per DVD sale. They now are demanding a bump to 8 cents.
According to several publications, the producers and writers remain far apart on this issue.
Greg Sandoval covers media and digital entertainment for CNET News. He is a former reporter for The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times. E-mail Greg, or follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/sandoCNET. 
It will also, in the very near future, effect regular TV shows, like Lost, CSI, etc. While these shows have enough episodes already written to last a few months, they will run out, and unless a deal is hammered out, there will be an onslaught of "Reality TV shows" taking their place. Just imagine, you tune into ABC on Wednesday night, hoping to catch the new "Lost" episode, and instead you get something like "Flava of Love". THIS WILL HURT!
And if this goes on long enough, it will also effect movies. There are enough movies in pre-production that we can make it to early 2009, but if by then there's still no deal, there won't be any more big blockbuster movies coming out.
While I don't think it will actually get this far, it's a possibility, and will hurt anyone who likes entertainment.
- No effect on quality for most TV shows and films
- by Freiheit13 November 4, 2007 10:08 AM PST
- "film and TV writers strike on Monday"... and the quality of the average TV show and film will not be affected.
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