• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, December 3, 2007

Striking TV writers now have some other numbers to crunch -- and no, it's not the billion or so they say each of the networks currently make from the Internet.

It's a better estimate of just how much advertising money they make from the streaming of network shows on the Internet. Starcom USA says the four networks will pull in around $120 million this year from advertising dollars from the Internet streaming of TV shows.

What this comes to, on a per episode basis per year, is roughly $55,000.  Now go and figure out the proper split between networks, producers, talent, and writers.

In their latest offer, the studios say a writer's share comes to $250 a year -- which wouldn't even buy a cup of Starbucks coffee every day. At the estimated $55,000/show level, the $250 would amount to 0.5%.

Perhaps a better way to decide what writers deserve is to see what syndication brings to the table -- because, after all, shows airing on the Internet are really just reruns. We don't have those exact numbers, but for a network rerun, according to The New York Times, writers can get $20,000.  

A network rerun can pull in on average say $20,000 for a minute's worth of national advertising for a network -- or around $2 million for an hour episode. Here, the writer's share comes to 1% -- which would be twice what's being offered for the Internet right now.

Now maybe you are saying that writers should get more to begin with -- that $20,000 isn't fair compensation for a good quality rerun on a lazy summer weekday in August.

But that isn't the number the union is playing up. It's the paltry $250 figure, which makes good headlines. Virtually all business journalists who cover TV topped their strike stories recently with this number.

But from a percentage basis, it's not that far off from what writers get now for a big-time, full-fledged network rerun. And even then, would the writers' union make a case that $500, $750 or even $1,000 a year for an episode is better?  This also sounds like chump change.

It's understandable the union wants to grow as the networks grow with the Internet. But right now, ABC isn't getting rich off that Internet episode of "Ugly Betty."

It's probably not even paying their craft services bill.  So it makes sense they are making an offer that won't pay for a latte.