Writers Guild's 100-Day War Produces A Fair Share Of Winners And Losers

The Writers Guild of America strike has been settled, and all is right with the universe - if you don't count global warming.

The Oscars show will go on. Sitcoms and dramas will resume production. Jay Leno and Jon Stewart won't have to struggle with their own material. There will be movies in theaters in 2009. And people can stop using the punch line, "Somebody actually writes this stuff?"

So who were the winners and losers? Let's rattle off a few:

Winner: the writers. The lowest animal on Hollywood's food chain will have a stake in the future income from scripted dramas and comedies.

During the 100 days of the strike, writers who would have worked lost about $260 million in earnings, said Jack Kyser of the Los Angeles Economic Development Corp. Other workers in the television and film industries missed out on $440 million more.

Add what the studios, networks and industry-related businesses such as caterers lost, and the total goes over $1 billion.

Viewers may have been a little grumpy because their favorite shows weren't on, but some writers were hurting and had to dig into their savings.

But it was worth it, said David Young, the guild's executive director. The 12,000-member WGA gained clout because the writers put up a united front. Most importantly, he stated Sunday during a news conference, the writers will get a percentage of revenue instead of a fixed fee for the streaming of entertainment on the Internet.

"This was most about the future than the right now," said Steve Battaglio, a senior correspondent in TV Guide's New York bureau. "The way people consume television is undergoing a fundamental change, and there's a day coming when the majority of the audience could be watching programs over their computers. It's a small percentage now, but the writers have staked a claim, and they will have a piece of the business."

Loser: broadcast networks. Ratings declined during the past three months as viewers wandered to cable and elsewhere. A national survey by Entertainment Weekly magazine found that 44 percent of Americans were watching less television during the strike.

Winner: publishers. That survey also found that 40 percent more Americans have been reading books during the strike. Also, 34 percent were watching more news, 27 percent were going to bed earlier, 23 percent were going online more, 21 percent were reading more magazines, and 9 percent were having more sex while 4 percent were arguing more with their spouse.

Winner: Screen Actors Guild. The 150,000-member body would have joined in the walkout when its contract expires in June. Now, the actors will probably get similar compensation for Internet streaming.

Winner: Fox. The network enjoyed sky-high football ratings for the Super Bowl and National Conference championship game.

Loser: writers with development deals. The production studios used the strike to sever ties with some highly paid writers and producers on the payroll because of past successes who hadn't produced any hits lately.

Among those guild members are television writer-producers who take home up to $5 million a year each. On the other extreme are junior writers who, if they work at all, make $50,000 or less. An estimated 48 percent are unemployed.

Winner: realty television. Unscripted series such as "American Idol," "The Moment of Truth," "American Gladiators," "The Biggest Loser" and "The Celebrity Apprentice" (and the list goes on) enjoyed good ratings.

Loser: writers, again. Entertainment Weekly's survey found that one in five viewers didn't know what "WGA" stands for. (Twenty percent said the "Women's Golf Association.")