Informal Talks Resume for Deal to End Writers Strike

MarketWatch reports that both the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) said late Tuesday that they would begin informal talks to see if there was a basis for formal negotiations to resume. After their contract with the AMPTP expired at the end of October last year, WGA members went on strike Nov. 5 to try to have their demands concerning payment for online streaming and downloading of TV shows and movies met in the new contract.On Dec. 7, the AMPTP walked out on contract negotiations, saying the writers' demands were unreasonable and that writers were asking for a payment setup that could exceed what producers make in revenue, "thereby dooming the Internet media business before it ever gets started."

Some hope exists that the writers strike could be resolved soon in the form of the three-year deal between the AMPTP and the Directors Guild of America that was reached last week after five days of formal negotiations. Usually, once a Hollywood union makes a deal with producers, the other unions also make deals based on the first union's agreement.