AFTRA Reaches Tentative Agreement, Net Pay Doubles

HBO's Curb Your EnthusiasmOne piece of another possible strike headache has ended for Hollywood studios--the American Federation of Television & Radio Artists announced a new, tentative three-year agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.

As with the writers union a few months ago, the focus of the agreement was on new residuals paid to actors for downloads and the streaming of video on the Internet.

The proposed agreement would double the pay actors receive from movies and TV shows sold online. In addition, it guarantees the union's jurisdiction over shows created for the Web that cost more than $15,000 a minute.

That last issue is still of concern for the bigger performers union--the Screen Actors Guild. SAG has agreements with Web-based shows which are budgeted under the $15,000 a minute, which the union believes could allow many more nonunion workers into the mix, thus hurting their members.

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Studios lost part of the battle to use TV clips for their digital businesses, since the deal preserves performers' consent for use of non-promotional use on new digital platforms from traditional TV shows. But the deal also gives studios and actors a way to come up with a system to use non-promotional clips on new digital platforms.

Of SAG's 122,000 members, 44,000 also belong to AFTRA, which represents radio announcers, musicians and soap opera and TV actors.

AFTRA does not represent feature film actors, but covers some prime-time TV shows, including "Rules of Engagement," "Cashmere Mafia," "Curb Your Enthusiasm," "Flight of the Conchords," "Dante's Cove," "Til Death," "Reaper" and new shows, CBS' "Project Gary" and drama "Harper's Island" and the ABC's "Roman's Empire."

AFTRA has some 70,000 overall members. In the past, both unions had negotiated together--but a disagreement between the two groups forced them to bargain separately.

Networks and studios were hurt by a 100-day old writers' strike earlier this year. Industry executives feared another strike from the actors would cause deeper disruptions, especially for the start of a new TV season.

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