Writers Guild of America officially on strike
November 5, 2007

It's been expected for months that the Writers Guild of America would walk off the job on November 1st, when their current labor agreement came to an end. Despite last-minute negotiations between the writers' union and producers - which ended in failure - the Writers Guild set up picket lines on Monday morning. At the heart of the labor strife is the so-called new media, such as Internet and DVD sales, for which writers want a significantly increased piece of the pie.

More than 12,000 writers have walked off the job as a result of the strike, and as an immediate effect, some late-night talk shows and sitcoms could instantly be thrown into re-runs. With no union writers to draft monologues, late-night talk shows will likely also be the most severely hit by the labor disruption. However, if the strike drags on towards the new year, it's likely that television programs will run out of pre-written material and will be forced into re-runs as well. Network TV's big respite comes from the fact that reality TV programs do not have unionized writers, and therefore, are continuing without disruption. On the motion picture side, most 2008 films already have completed scripts, and production will not be impacted. However, should the strike be prolonged, there is a chance that movies slated for a 2009 release could be impacted.

What is causing such a large rift between the writers and the producers are the new media, such as DVD sales, on-demand sales, and digital downloads from the Internet and cell phones. Writers say they want to double the amount of money they receive from each DVD sale, though during the last-minute negotiations, writers said they were willing to drop that demand. However, writers do want a portion of online media sales, such as TV episodes sold via iTunes. However, producers are worried that the success of Internet sales is not yet known, and could prove to be a net loser of cash. As a result, producers want to pay the current DVD rate for downloads - a move that doesn't sit well with the writers.

The last major strike by the Writers' Guild of America took place in 1988, and went on to last for 22 weeks. The WGA strike delayed the start of that fall television season, which cost the entertainment industry an estimated $500 million. According to Reuters, if the current strike were to last for an equal amount of time, it's possible the losses could reach up to $1 billion. And, with over 250,000 people employed in the entertainment industry, which accounts for more than $30 billion of the Los Angeles County's economy alone, most people are hoping for a speedy resolution.

In the meantime, shows such as Late Night With David Letterman, The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson, The Daily Show With Jon Stewart, The Colbert Report, The Tonight Show With Jay Leno, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Kummel Live and Saturday Night Live are all headed for re-runs. It looks like the big loser is the TV watcher, who might just have to switch gears to another form of entertainment, such as video games or other online media.