New WGA stumbling block is old issue: DVD

November 01, 2007 After months of speculation that Internet compensation will decide whether the WGA seals a new contract or goes out on strike, the studios' chief negotiator has blamed an eleventh-hour impasse on a little shiny disc. "We've been working hard to come up with a package in response to your last proposal, but we keep running up against the DVD issue," said Nick Counter, president of the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers. Counter said writers can only expect the same terms for permanent Internet downloads of movies and films as they are now provided under the home video residuals formula.

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