I wonder if Dave and Jay get paid something when a re-run is aired.
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Dude they don't get paid per show. They are paid a yearly salary. Because they aren't showing up, they are in effect suspended and their weekly checks are being held back.

>> I wonder if Dave and Jay get paid something when a re-run is aired.

I was wondering about Letterman, I thought maybe he had a really great deal because he seemed to take whole weeks off-and consequently be in reruns- quite often pre-strike. So that $600,000 a week is actually more when you figure in vacation weeks, besides which his production company did 'Everybody loves Raymond' which I'd guess still throws off some nice cash. And, yeah, whereas Leno has his car hobby (which must consume a good deal of cash) Letterman strikes me as someone who saves the bulk of his income. Little Harry should be quite well off someday.

it was revealed today that DAVE LETTERMAN, while not getting paid by cbs during the strike, is PERSONALLY paying his ENTIRE staff thru the end of the year.

Leno has said many times that he doesn't even touch his Tonight Show money. He lives (quite comfortably, of course) off of his stand-up cash. And I'm sure he's just going to do more dates if the strike goes on for a long while.

Letterman, however, is supposedly paying his staff (and that of "The Late, Late Show" as well) at least until the end of the year, if the strike continues. So he'll definitely be losing money. But again, I'm sure he's got plenty to burn, and he doesn't seem like the kind of guy to spend piles and piles of money left and right, either. So I'm sure he'll be fine as well.

khamel,

My current cable internet (Roadrunner, 8Mb down) is already fast enough to stream a 720p stream. Perhaps for a 1080i stream I would need a faster connection, but that won't even be a problem soon (FioS and such). Also, true most people can't figure out how to stream from computer to TV and such, but that won't happen for very much longer as people get more and more tech savvy, and technology gets more and more user friendly. And the strike is really about guaranteeing they get a fair cut for the future.

both suck

The writers strike is not just over TV. The same union and strike effects movies as well. Since the scripts are written well in advance there is less immediate effects there but don't forget this is about both.

There was an interesting article about the movie industry and this strike in The New York Times a few days ago. Basically the big actors and directors are getting whats called participation deals which have gotten to a point where the studios almost can't make money on a film anymore. What needs to happen is the actors/actresses/directors/producers need to take a pay cut first before there will even be enough money to be paying the writers more.

Total costs for the movie industry in 2006 - $25.6 billion
Total sales in 2006 were only $23.7 billion
Overall the industry lost $1.9 billion so basically there are no big profits to bargain with currently

Is this a surprise that the networks aren't paying Letterman and Leno? Why would they keep paying when they're receiving nothing from them. This seems like the norm to me. Like if the movie studios went on strike, do you think the movie theaters would keep sending them money when there's no films to see? What a weird article.

Regarding the paychecks, if you drive a Ferrari you gotta be able to maintain it... ergo, it sucks when anyone misses a payday regardless of how much more it is than regular folk.

Regarding the strike, it certainly should end but since I was a "victim" of the NHL lockout, daily rumors of "the strike is gonna end this week" will only tear you apart. When it's done, it's done - strikers should consider a part-time "regular job".