The Strike-Day 97

The latest: WRITERS, PRODUCERS REACH TENTATIVE DEAL

Deal points revealed The WGA has finalized its tentative agreement with the majors and will present details of the pact to members today in meetings in Los Angeles and New York.

A four-page summary of the agreement was e-mailed to the WGA's 10,500 membership at 3a.m. Saturday ahead of the meetings in New York and Los Angeles...

"I personally had bet on (the strike being settled) next week, but this is great, of course, it means projects that we have been talking about for a long time will now pick up speed," said Henning Molfenter, head of production at Studio Babelsberg Motion Pictures.

"The strike slowed everything down, meant projects that were in development didn't progress. So we are happy it's over."

Key points in the deal include:

-- An increase in minimum rates of 3.5% each year. Exceptions include network primetime rates and daytime serial script fees, which will increase 3% per year. Program fees and upset price increase once by 3% in the second year; and clip fees increase once by 5% in the third year.

-- Made-for pay TV residuals: An annual residual payments' increase from $3,000 to $3,500 for a half-hour program and from $5,000 to $6,000 for an hourlong program.

-- Residuals of 1.2% of distributor's gross receipts for download rentals where the viewer pays for limited new media access.

-- Residuals for ad-supported streaming of feature films produced after July 1, 1971, payable at 1.2% of distributor's gross receipts.

-- Television ad-supported streaming (library) for programs produced after 1977, payable at 2% of distributors' gross receipts.

-- For download sales (electronic sell-through) where the viewer pays for permanent use of a program, residuals are to be paid at 0.36% of distributor's gross receipts for the first 100,000 downloads of a television program and the first 50,000 downloads of a feature. After that, residuals are paid at 0.7% of distributor's gross receipts for television programs and 0.65% for feature films.

-- Ad-supported streaming of television programs payable at 2% of distributors' gross receipts one year from the end of an initial streaming window.

-- Residual payments for network primetime where in the first and second years of a contract, after the initial window, for network primetime television programs, a fixed residual of 3% of the residual base ("applicable minimum") will be paid for each of up to two 26-week periods. The agreement also calls for in the third year of this contract that 2% of the distributor's gross formula is applied immediately after the initial streaming window.

-- Residual payment (all other programs): After the initial streaming window, a fixed residual of 3% of the residual base (the "applicable minimum") is paid for each of up to two 26-week periods in the first two years of this contract. In the third year of this contract, the payment rate rises to 3.5% of the residual base.

-- The agreement also covered a definition for fair-market value on new-media residuals; access to information, clips and promotions; and health and pension fund rates.

The terms must be voted on a ratified before it's all official but the parties have turned the corner on this walkout...

Meanwhile...

Writers cramp

Scribes still sulking about shift in TV landscape

And what about the actors? Will they avoid a strike before their contract expires?

AFTRA open to SAG talks

Union exec hopes for 'Phase One' agreement

And even as the Writers Guild returns to work...

Studios pose obstacles for writers

Picketers face uphill battle even after strike ends...

Stay Tuned As The Wrap-Up Begins...