US TV production and the writers strike  #
Friday, 09 Nov 2007 10:16AM
tvtonight.com.au has an excellent run down of the TV shows in production in the US, how many shows are scripted and "in the can".

Not only does it tell us when shows are likely to have to go off the air as a result of the writers strike, but it also provides a great little list of all of the major TV channels in the US and the shows they are producing... And how far ahead (or not) they are.

The writer's strike is primarily about royalties for writers for when a TV show is released and sold on DVD and when it's used on the web. They're fighting for "technology neutral" contracts which pay them a royalty no matter how the product is used.

I wonder if one of the reasons TV shows (and I presume movies) are so cheap on DVD is because royalties like this currently don't get paid?