Hollywood talks break off, writers strike still on hold

Although the Writers Guild of America broke off negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers Wednesday, the WGA did not instruct its members to walk off the job. Hollywood scribes are seeking a share of income derived from webisodes, mobisodes and other scripted new-media formats; the WGA said it will meet with members in Los Angeles today to plot their next move.

"Just hours before the expiration of our contract, the AMPTP brought negotiations to a halt," the WGA said in a statement. "The companies refused to continue to bargain unless we agree that the hated DVD formula be extended to Internet downloads." In addition to compensation for digital content, writers and producers are squaring off on a series of related issues, including broadening the scope of cable programming under WGA jurisdiction, adding reality series and animation to the contract and increasing residuals on DVDs.

Should the WGA call a strike, late-night talk shows are expected to immediately go into mothballs--NBC has already said series like The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Saturday Night Live will be forced to go into repeats in the absence of new material, and a similar fate will likely befall CBS' The Late Show with David Letterman and Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report. It's worth noting that repurposed late-night programming constitutes a sizable chunk of current mobile TV content.

For more on the Hollywood negotiations:
- read this Multichannel News article

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