Comedy shows are the first to go dark

The 12,000 members of the Writers Guild of America will walk out this morning in a row over sharing profits from spin-offs such as DVDs and websites.

Programmes that will feel the immediate brunt of the action are topical comedies such as The Daily Show and late-night talk shows from Jay Leno and David Letterman, which are likely to be taken off air during the strike.

Sitcoms are also expected to be affected, as they have much shorter turnaround times than dramas and movies.

Picket lines are expected to be set up in New York and Los Angeles today, after last-minute talks set up by the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers, which represents programme-makers, failed late last night after 10 hours of negotiations.

The last strike by screenwriters, in 1988, lasted 22 weeks, costing Los Angeles alone £250million.

Writers are also demanding better pay schedules for programmes shown on the internet, mobile phones and other new media outlets.

Writer Bryce Zabel said: ‘Everybody knows what a DVD costs and a writer gets four to five cents for a DVD sale. We’ve asked for eight, and they’ve said that’s outrageous.’

A statement from the Writers Guild said they ‘completely withdrew’ their DVD proposal yesterday after producers said it was a ‘roadblock to progress’. But the sides could still not agree on the new media terms.

AMPTP president Nick Counter said: ‘We made an attempt at meeting them in a number of their key areas including internet streaming and jurisdiction in new media. Ultimately, the guild was unwilling to compromise on most of their major demands. It is unfortunate that they choose to take this irresponsible action.'

Jay Leno made light of the situation on his show on Friday. During his monologue, written by union writers, he joked: ‘They call it the toughest time for comedy writing since those three weeks back in the 1990s when Bill Clinton stopped dating.’

Published: 5 Nov 2007