Letterman company reaches deal with striking writers

Dec 29, 2007, 14:46 GMT

New York - US talk show host David Letterman's production company has reached a deal with striking writers allowing his shows to return to air, The New York Times reported Saturday.

The agreement between Worldwide Pants and the Writer's Guild of America (WGA) is the first between the sides since Hollywood screen and television writers launched their strike action almost eight weeks ago.

It will allow The Late Show With David Letterman and The Late, Late Show, which Letterman's company also produces, return to their slots on the CBS network from Wednesday, the newspaper reported.

Letterman's late-night chat competitors including Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Kimmel, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert - also plan to return to the air in the New Year, but without their usual writing teams.

All major US talk shows have been forced to broadcast reruns since the strike began November 5.

The strike by around 12,000 members of the WGA is estimated to be costing some 20 million dollars a day.

The dispute centres on royalties for work distributed over the internet and other digital media, and has halted production on dozens of top TV shows from Desperate Housewives to The Office, as well as several high-profile movies, including a planned sequel to The Da Vinci Code.

Worldwide Pants, which licenses shows to CBS and was therefore able to reach agreement independent of the network, had according to the report agreed to the writers' principle demands.

'We don't have a problem giving the writers what they are asking for,' said Chief Executive Rob Burnett. 'We think they deserve it, and we're happy to give it to them.'

Exact details of the agreement were however not released.

An overall deal in the dispute remained however a distant prospect. Such interim agreements have been reached in the three previous writers' strikes, including a five-month walkout in 1988, The New York Times said.