Ever since the debut of the video iPod, which has no fancy name of it's own yet, I have been curious as to how well the television shows would sell. They are a $1.99 a download from the iTunes store and can be had the day after the show airs. So if you are too lazy to record the show and transfer it to your "iPod-V" (This is my suggestion for a name!) you have a new, DRM laden alternative. I can see the iPod-V commercials now, with trendy, young, upwardly mobile consumers flashing a big grin and a victory sign with their fingers to other pod people as they walk briskly down the street.
This in itself is intriguing, to be able to buy a show for 2 bucks with no commercial interruption and also to pick a particular episode. Let's hope this catches on for folks with bigger screens...but I digress. What we are hearing today is not a cry from advertisers, complaining that they are being left out in the cold airwaves to fend for themselves against remote controls and time shifting. No, their cries are drowned out by a unified chorus of discontent from those agencies that are representing the actors in these segments. Oddly, it seems there has been no dialog with the powers that cut the deal with Apple and the actors unions.
Now, in an impressive show of unity, several actors unions have come forward simultaneously to let it be known that they are expecting compensation for their membership for these television tracks.
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The development was news to Patric Verrone, president of the Writers Guild of America, west, and John Connolly, president of the American Federation of Television & Radio Artists. The two called their counterparts at the Screen Actors Guild, Directors Guild of America and the Writers Guild of America, East, which covers writers east of the Mississippi. The show of unity was unusual, coming from unions that are sometimes at odds over issues such as royalties from DVD sales. "We developed a new piece of stationary that never existed before," Verrone said of the joint statement. The unions have not yet called ABC or its parent, The Walt Disney Co., to discuss how much of the $1.99 that Apple is charging for a single episode should go to writers, actors and directors. "The guilds are our business partners, and we always welcome a dialogue with them on any business-related issue that affects their members," ABC said in a statement. |
Oh, what a tangled web we weave. It is hard to fathom that a deal can be cut with Apple and a price set, yet the actors, directors etc., involved in the production of the shows have not been considered. Or is it? You may visit this link at My Way AP News for quite a bit more information on the issue.
Source: AP News My Way
