TV Networks Consider Using Strike To Cancel Costly Production Deals

TV NETWORKS CONSIDER USING STRIKE TO CANCEL COSTLY PRODUCTION DEALS
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Rebecca Dana at rebecca.dana@wsj.com and Sam Schechner]
In moves that are likely to complicate the writers' strike as it enters its seventh week, most late-night shows are plotting to return to the airwaves and television companies are considering whether to cancel some of their costly production deals. The Writers Guild of America also announced over the weekend it will seek individual deals with media companies, after negotiations broke down a week ago. That gambit -- along with the late-night shows' potential return and television networks' moves toward cost-cutting -- are signs that both sides are preparing for the strike to drag on. During the weekend, David Letterman's production company Worldwide Pants said it plans to seek an interim deal with the guild, a settlement people in the industry would watch closely to see how it reflects the guild's most recent offer to the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119785198066332667.html?mod=todays_us_ma...
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* Striking writers in talks to launch Web start-ups
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Joseph Menn]
Dozens of striking film and TV writers are negotiating with venture capitalists to set up companies that would bypass the Hollywood studio system and reach consumers with video entertainment on the Web.
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-fi-webwriters17dec17,1...
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