Hollywood writers call new offer a rollback

GARY GENTILE
Associated Press

LOS ANGELES–Hollywood studios presented a new contract offer to striking film and TV writers yesterday that the studios said would pay writers millions of dollars extra for shows created for the Internet.

But writers said some of the proposals amounted to rollbacks and said studios should adopt their counteroffer.

The Writers Guild of America said they asked for a recess in the talks until Tuesday to consider its options, but it called on members to continue picketing today and Monday.

The producers said the new offer, dubbed the "New Economic Partnership," included payments for work shown on the Internet, the key sticking points in the talks.

"The entire value of the New Economic Partnership will deliver more than $130 million (U.S.) in additional compensation above and beyond the more than $1.3 billion writers already receive each year," the statement from the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers said.

The guild countered with a lengthier response, saying the producers' proposal only dealt with advertising-supported programs streamed for free and jurisdiction over shows created for the Web "and it amounts to a massive rollback."

The writers said their plan, presented yesterday, would cost producers $151 million over three years.

"That's a little over a 3 percent increase in writer earnings each year, while company revenues are projected to grow at a rate of 10 percent," the statement said.