A force to be reckoned with

In response to a proposal from studios called the New Economic Partnership, striking Hollywood writers made their own proposal yesterday.

The New Economic Partnership proposed a compensation scale for shows repurposed for the internet that roughly matches the existing model for DVD purchases.

Under the terms of the NEP, writers would receive a single $250 payment for one year's use of an hour-long show streamed online.

The Writers Guild of America accepted the fixed residual for TV shows circulating the internet for one year. However, the payment must be adjusted upward for every 100,000 streams per quarter.

"We believe these formulas will protect the writer even if all television reuse migrates to new media," the guild stated, according to the Associated Press.

After a show has been online for one year, the Writers Guild suggests a compensation of 2.5 percent of distributor's gross receipts for shows and movies streamed online.

The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers has not yet commented on the counter proposal.

The strike is expected to last until January. Many advertisers have already been driven to demand rebates for ad messages ignored amidst stale reruns, both online and on television networks.