Well, it's official; The Writers will go on strike from early Monday after their negotiators recommended a walkout over royalties. A move that could shutter late-night TV shows immediately. The WGA vote was unanimous and the strike starts from 12:01 a.m. PT on Monday.
The walkout will be the first in 20 years. The last one was in 1988 and estimates say the five-month stoppage cost the industry half-a-billion dollars. So you'd think the bosses would be slightly less keen on causing a re-run??
The Writers seem united behind their leaders and while the door is open for further talks, any such event is looking very unlikely. The biggest problem is DVD sales; Under the current royalties system - negotiated in 1988 when DVD was in its infancy - a Writer gets about 3 cents for every $20 VHS or DVD sold. With DVD now the de-facto standard, they think they should get a fairer share for what is ultimately their work, while the Producers seem convinced the entire pie should belong to them.
The Writers also want a share of the income produced by shows being deployed on new media like cellphones and online-streaming sites. The bosses say all that's too new to know if it's profitable so they'll bravely absorb all the income themselves, and the Writers can share in the proceeds later on.
As you can imagine, that idea was a big hit ??
It's taken both sides three and a half months to get this far. The Writers say the strike is entirely the Producers fault, while the Producers say....Well, can you guess??
If this actually happens, late-night talkers like David Letterman, Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien will vanish almost at once; Or at least fade to re-runs. Most Soaps have enough stock to last for about a month, and your favorite prime-time drama should keep going until about Oscar night before it hits the buffers. With their best doom-laden voice, the Networks tell us they would be 'forced' to play nothing but reruns, news shows and Reality series to fill in the gaps.
...But isn't that 99% of their output already?!...How will we know the difference??
As I see it, this is a case of the bosses trying to eat all the pie and only being willing to let the talented people who created it share in the merest crumbs...when it suits them. I'm 110% behind the Writers.
Who's with me?
The walkout will be the first in 20 years. The last one was in 1988 and estimates say the five-month stoppage cost the industry half-a-billion dollars. So you'd think the bosses would be slightly less keen on causing a re-run??
The Writers seem united behind their leaders and while the door is open for further talks, any such event is looking very unlikely. The biggest problem is DVD sales; Under the current royalties system - negotiated in 1988 when DVD was in its infancy - a Writer gets about 3 cents for every $20 VHS or DVD sold. With DVD now the de-facto standard, they think they should get a fairer share for what is ultimately their work, while the Producers seem convinced the entire pie should belong to them.
The Writers also want a share of the income produced by shows being deployed on new media like cellphones and online-streaming sites. The bosses say all that's too new to know if it's profitable so they'll bravely absorb all the income themselves, and the Writers can share in the proceeds later on.
As you can imagine, that idea was a big hit ??
It's taken both sides three and a half months to get this far. The Writers say the strike is entirely the Producers fault, while the Producers say....Well, can you guess??
If this actually happens, late-night talkers like David Letterman, Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien will vanish almost at once; Or at least fade to re-runs. Most Soaps have enough stock to last for about a month, and your favorite prime-time drama should keep going until about Oscar night before it hits the buffers. With their best doom-laden voice, the Networks tell us they would be 'forced' to play nothing but reruns, news shows and Reality series to fill in the gaps.
...But isn't that 99% of their output already?!...How will we know the difference??
As I see it, this is a case of the bosses trying to eat all the pie and only being willing to let the talented people who created it share in the merest crumbs...when it suits them. I'm 110% behind the Writers.
Who's with me?
