The powerful Writers Guild of America’s (WGA) membership have voted overwhelmingly to go on strike. The WGA is arguing that Hollywood’s TV and movie producers are under-paying minimum fees and is seeking closer parity between ‘network’ and cable-based TV series productions.

Some 96 per cent of votes supported the strike call. The WGA said that 67 percent of its members voted. A meeting is scheduled for April 25^th but the threat is that a strike could begin as soon as May 2^nd, and this could immediately impact work being done on the Autumn season of new productions.

The last time the WGA held a strike was a 100-day stoppage which started in November 2007.

A key complaint is that fees for the new crop of SVoD ‘broadcasters’ and shows which are commissioned for cable networks are lower than for conventional mainstream network TV.

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