Is Actors' Strike Next?

Oh, no! Are we in for yet another TV season ruined by a Hollywood strike? Members of the Screen Actors Guild (actors' union) may have to walk out if their union leaders fail to reach a settlement with the producers. How would that affect the next TV season?

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The current contract between the actors' union and the studios expires on June 30 and the talks have reached a stalemate.

If the two sides fail to reach an agreement and a strike is called, this may have immediate repercussions on a number of shows.

Some fall series like "Prison Break," "Heroes," "Private Practice," "Brothers & Sisters" and "Dirty Sexy Money" have already been in production for weeks.

But some shows like "Desperate Housewives" or "Grey's Anatomy" have yet to go into production of the new season.

That means the networks would either use some of the shows on their schedule to start the fall season or delay the season till October or November.

Some cable shows which begin their new season this summer (such as AMC's "Mad Men") might have to interrupt the filming or cut the new season short.

Midseason shows like "24," "Lost" or newbie "Dollhouse" would not be affected as everyone expects the strike would long be settled by the time they get back on air.

A small number of shows whose casts are entirely made up of AFTRA members ("'Till Death" or "Reaper") would not be affected either.

Everyone however hopes the strike will be avoided and the new season will go ahead as planned. Then again everyone felt the same last October and we all know how that finished.

Writers' Strike Effects: $1.4 Billion Lost?

EW reports today that the writers' strike has cost WGA members and below-the-line workers a total of $1.4 billion in lost wages. And there is still no end in sight.

According to the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation's chief economist Jack Kyser there is about $70-80 million at stake just with the cancellation of the Golden Globes (NBC should lose about $15 million in ad revenues).

If the same happens to the Academy Awards which are supposed to be held on Sunday, February 24, the economic impact of that event is in the neighborhood of $130 million.

Obviously things have changed since the last writers' strike in 1988 which lasted for 22 weeks and is said to have cost the industry (as well as the local businesses depending on Hollywood production) about half a billion.

Once the strike is resolved I will be very curious to see how much the writers will have gained and compare that to the losses the industry will have endured.

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Who Are The Highest Paid TV Stars?

JULY 26, 2007: The highest paid "Desperate Housewife" shares the same position with the most expensive "Grey's Anatomy" star on the just released chart of top paid entertainers in the TV industry.

According to this week's TV Guide, "Grey's" star Ellen Pompeo (snapped yesterday at "The Bourne Ultimatum" premiere in LA) who plays the titular character on the show and the recently wed "Desperate Housewife" Eva Longoria both earn $200,000 per episode giving them #7 on the chart of the highest paid TV stars.



The top prime-time position went to William Petersen of CBS CSI who earns half a million USD per episode.

The highest paid TV ceebrity overall is of course talk queen Oprah Winfrey with an unbelievable $260 million per year.

The highest paid news anchor is the lowest-rated one: Katie Couric who moved from NBC's Today to CBS Evening News earns $15 million per year.

Here are the charts:


TOP FIVE (all salaries are per year)

Oprah Winfrey ("The Oprah Winfrey Show"): $260 million

Simon Cowell ("American Idol"): $45 million

Judge Sheindlin ("Judge Judy"): $30 million

Katie Couric ("CBS Evening News Anchor"): $15 million

Zach Braff ("Scrubs"): $6.3 million


NETWORK PRIME TIME (all salaries are per episode)

William Petersen ("CSI"): $500,000

Charlie Sheen ("Two and a Half Men"): $350,000

Mariska Hargitay ("Law & Order: SVU"): $350,000

Chris Meloni ("Law & Order: SVU"): $350,000

Hugh Laurie ("House"): $300,000

Julia Louis-Dreyfus ("New Adventures of Old Christine"): $225,000

Ellen Pompeo ("Grey's Anatomy"): $200,000

Eva Longoria ("Desperate Housewives"): $200,000


DAYTIME (all salaries are per year)

Judge Judy: $30 million

Bob Barker: $10 million

Maury Povich (per year plus profits): $7 million

Ellen DeGeneres: $5 million

Jerry Springer: $3 million - 4 million

Tyra Banks: $3.5 million


NEWS ANCHORS (all salaries are per year)

Katie Couric ("CBS Evening News" anchor): $15 million

Matt Lauer (NBC "Today" co-anchor): $12 million

Meredith Vieira (NBC "Today" co-anchor): $10 million

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Top Salaries On TV

MARCH 26, 2007: Entertainment Weekly reports about a new battle of TV's most popular entertainers to force Hollywood studios to shell out top dollar on their top talent. So who makes what on TV?

It all began in January when The Closer star Kyra Sedgwick forced TNT to give her $250,000 per episode of her top-rated cable series. When the news of her pay rise hit trade press, actresses across Hollywood asked themselves: "If Kyra can make so much money, why can't I?"

Studios and networks often complain about rising production costs, but they have been nevertheless willing to pay top bucks to retain their most recognizable faces.

ABC Studio, for instance, which produces the sitcom "Scrubs" for the NBC network, has promised its star Zach Braff a salary of $350,000 per episode should the low-rated comedy series get renewed for a seventh season.

Legendary TV producer Dick Wolff, on the other hand, threatened his top Law & Order: SVU stars Christopher Meloni and Mariska Hargitay that they would be fired if they insisted on earning a salary of more than $600,000 per episode.

The duo's new deal ($300,000 per episode) will however still put them into TV's top echelon of stars, including CSI's William Petersen ($500,000) and 24's Kiefer Sutherland ($400,000).

The stars of broadcast TV's top-rated drama "Grey's Anatomy" are not even entitled to pay rise since their still under their original contracts. The studio has however given most of its stars retroactive salary increases dating back to the beginning of the third season.

That means most of the stars of ABC's Seattle-set medical drama will be earning about $125,000 per episode, with principal stars Ellen Pompeo and Patrick Dempsey earning more than $200,000 per episode.

Former "Ally McBeal" star Calista Flockhart earns about $150,000 per episode of her ABC drama "Brothers & Sisters", while her co-star Academy Award winner Sally Field locks in about $100,000 per episode.

Even some of the pilots currently in production have proven to be expensive from the get go. The pilot getting some of the strongest early buzz, Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton fronted comedy "Action News" for CBS will bring its stars $150,000 to $275,000 per half-hour episode, should the sitcom get picked up for fall.

The above-stated salaries have become a staple in today's top-tier TV business. Inexperienced actors, however, who are yet to build a name for themselves are on the other side of the spectrum earning only about $25,000-$40,000 per episode.

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Is Writers' Strike Good for TV Networks?

As the WGA and the AMPTP finally resume their negotiations today and take the first step towards (hopefully) ending the writers' strike, TV networks continue to boast to the viewing public as well as investors on Wall Street they are ready for the impact of a prolonged strike. In fact, first FOX and now The CW went so far as to claim the strike will be good for their business.

Although it is obviously true FOX is better prepared for the disappearance of scripted fare than the other networks given the continuing power of "American Idol," the overall ratings of network TV in the US are already down 12% this fall.

If the immensely popular series like "Desperate Housewives," "Grey's Anatomy" and "CSI" suddenly run out of fresh episodes (unless the strike is soon resolved this will happen by early or late January) the ratings will continue to plummet.

The networks appear to be confident that their upcoming slate of untested reality shows and midseason series will strike a chord with viewers and keep them glued to the screen for the remainder of the season.


According to a fresh Variety poll, 77% of viewers however say they will simply watch less TV and that is exactly the opinion shared by media buying companies on Madison Avenue which purchase advertising space on network TV in bulk and then resell it to clients like Microsoft, L'Oreal, Kraft, etc.

When these companies bought commercials on broadcast TV last spring, the networks based their rates on the assumption the ratings would be down 7% this fall.

If the ratings which are already down 12% (also because of the underwhelming slate of new shows) continue to fall, the networks may have to not only give make-good ads to their clients to compensate these losses, but also some cash back.

That means, whether they like it or not, TV networks may have to do their best to end the ongoing writers' strike or this TV season will turn into an utter disaster.

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TV Salaries: How Much Money Writers Make?

You may have wondered how much money TV writers, who abandoned their jobs last week and hit the picket lines in protest over DVD residuals and digital media compensation, really make. Let's take a look at the minimums guaranteed by the writers' union basic agreement.

Writers on a prime-time TV series like "Desperate Housewives" earn a minimum of 30,823 USD for writing a story and teleplay per one episode.

If the network requires a rewrite, the applicable minimum is $8,634 per episode. The writer earns a minimum of $4,324 for polishing a script.

The writers are paid a minimum of $2,890 to $3,688 per week on week-to-week term employment basis. If they work in additional capacities they could earn a minimum of up to $6,879 per week (based on the number of weeks they are employed).

The writers also earn additional 'program fees'. A maximum fee of $3,312 per episode is however split among the writers.

Writers may also earn additional fees in case they are asked to come up with story outlines (in case the network wishes to preview an upcoming storyline).

If they are asked to come up with a 'bible' (an outline of up to 6 storylines for an upcoming season) the writers earn a minimum of $44,353 per bible plus an additional $4,435 per storyline if the bible contains more than 6 storylines.

Each prime-time rerun earns the writer credited for writing the story, the teleplay or both a minimum residual payment of $8,431 to $21,078 per episode.

The minimum compensation for reruns in other time than prime-time is 50% or less of the original compensation (50% for 2nd rerun, 40% for 3rd, etc.)

Original compensation is payable within 7 days following script delivery; rerun residuals are payable within 30 days of the rerun.

The writers are also entitled to foreign telecast residuals which is especially important if the show becomes a global phenomenon.

These are all minimum payments enforced by the writers union. Successful writers like Marc Cherry or Shonda Rhimes can have contracts worth 5 million USD per year.

48% of the 12000 members of the writers union are however believed to be unemployed and rely on residual payments.

All minimum payments listed in this post are based on the WGA Theatrical and TV Basic Agreement which expired on 10/31. The minimums were increased in each of the last 3 years for which the said document was valid.

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NBC's Silverman: ABC Hated "Ugly Betty"

NBC's hard-partying Head of Entertainment Ben Silverman has caused controversy in Hollywood taking shots at his competitors in a recent Esquire article, including ABC President Steve McPherson, whom he called a "moron" who hated "Ugly Betty" and its star America Ferrera and had to be talked into ordering the show after 17 pitches.

Before he took over his executive position at NBC, Silverman was an independent producer responsible for US adaptation of a number of internationally successful reality shows and scripted series including "The Biggest Loser," "The Office" and the aforementioned "Ugly Betty."

Speaking of McPherson Silverman says: "I delivered him a huge hit that he didn't want: "Ugly Betty." He hated the show, he didn't want America Ferrera, he didn't understand why I pitched it to him seventeen times and wouldn't stop. Then it delivered despite that. And every time we would do well, he'd try to find some issue with it."

"I think he wishes he had been a producer. He's a sad man, like a miserable guy stuck operating as an executive. And it probably makes him nuts that this kid who's five years younger than him is producing hit shows and then goes and gets his job in an end run -- and a much bigger job than he has."

NBC's current schedule was to a great extent put together by Silverman's predecessor Kevin Reilly. One of Silverman's first influences, paranormal-themed reality show "Phenomenon" has already premiered, but is not doing too well, scoring a little over 6 million viewers.

Over the summer, Silverman ordered a new scripted version of the classic "Robinson Crusoe" tale; a US adaptation of the British comedy about Roman Catholic priests "Father Ted," adaptation of a Colombian telenovela "Without Breasts There Is No Paradise" about a flat-chested girl who becomes a hooker to pay for a boob job and "American Gladiators" reality program hosted by Hulk Hogan.

Following the publication of the article, a surprised Silverman said he made the offensive comments off the record and the journalist was "provoking" him.

You can read the full Esquire article by clicking HERE.

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Negotiations Collapse, Writers Strike Begins

Hollywood is about to shut down one step at a time as the last-ditch negotiations between the writers' union and Hollywood producers collapsed after the WGA East announced they were going on strike at 12:01 am EST, although the talks were originally supposed to continue through 12:01 am PST.

The producers said the union was not willing to "stop the clock" for the purpose of delaying the strike to allow negotiations to continue.

"They went out on a strike in New York while we were still negotiating in Los Angeles," a furious producer said.

The union responded by saying that it was actually the producers who walked out of the negotiations at 12:30 am EST.

The union members will start picketing 15 different studio/network locations on Monday morning, including Rockefeller Plaza in New York, the seat of NBC.

TV showrunners worked through the weekend to finish scripts so more episodes could be filmed and they could get paid.

One writer/director said he penned three different scripts with 3 different endings so he could later change his mind as a director without breaking the "Pencils Down" rule of the strike.

Late night talk shows will go dark immediately, daytime soap operas should last till the end of the year, while most prime-time shows should make it to the end of January or February sweeps.

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Writers Strike Update

Strike is called for Monday at 12:01 AM; federal mediator steps in a last-minute attempt to avert the strike; showrunners like Marc Cherry, Shonda Rhimes, Greg Berlanti and others express their support for the writers; and the strike fallout begins as Jay Leno, Conan O'Brian, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert and "Saturday Night Live" are all going into repeats effective Monday.

The WGA West board and WGA East Council voted unanimously Friday afternoon to accept negotiators' recommendation and stage a writers strike starting at 12:01 a.m. PT Monday.

Juan Carlos Gonzalez of the Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service has called a last-ditch meeting at 10:00 a.m. PT on Sunday to try to reach an agreement which would forestall the walkout.

Showrunners of TV's top shows have all signed the message you can see below expressing their full support for the fellow writers.

Although showrunners are often called producers, the powerful rival hiding behind the flashy name "The Alliance of Motion Picture and TV Producers" that the writers are battling are the production studios and TV networks represented by Hollywood moguls and CEOs.

Finally, the aforementioned late night comedy programs are going dark effective Monday. Programs like "The View" or "Regis and Kelly" will continue as usual.

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Writers Union Recommends Immediate Strike

Writers Union recommended immediate strike in their Thursday evening session attended by about 3000 members. The board will vote today when the strike should begin, the most likely date being Monday, November 5.

There are over 20 issues the writers union and the alliance of producers are fighting over, the most crucial ones being: DVD residuals and compensation for new media distribution (Internet, cell phones, etc.)

The writers are currently paid roughly 4 cents from the sale of each DVD - they are asking for 8. They are not paid for new media distribution (for instance, when TV shows are streamed over the Internet). The writers union believes they should be paid even if the end user is not paying to watch the show.

The studios on the other hand say that the DVD issue is the most serious roadblock to continuing negotiations. They say DVD sales are necessary to set off losses resulting from rising costs of production and marketing and doubling residuals for writers is out of the question.

What does that mean for the viewer?

TV shows are in various stages of production, but most have filmed about 10 episodes of their respective seasons. The writers have meanwhile completed at least 13 or several more episodic scripts.

"24" and "LOST" have filmed even fewer episodes since they began production late. Most shows begin filming in early or mid July, whereas "LOST" began lensing its fourth season in late August and "24" delayed filming till early September.

Unfortunately, it seems the networks will be forced to shutdown production immediately despite having those few extra scripts - the writers are needed during the filming as scripts are often rewritten at the last minute.

Also, many of the writers and union members work as showrunners or executive producers and without their presence the shows won't be able to continue production.

That means, unless the strike is resolved quickly, the networks will run out of new episodes by Christmas or January. Fresh installments of late night talk shows and daytime soaps will be the first to disappear.

Many businesses in California that cater to the entertainment industry, (e.g. restaurants, car rentals, etc.) are also afraid of the financial impact of the strike.

It is not clear how long the strike will last, but everyone is hopeful that it will be shorter than the last strike which took place in 1988 and lasted for 22 weeks.

The actors union also expressed its support for the writers, but they will not be able to join in as their union contract with studios expires in June 2008.

Writers will be expected to close their laptops and take part in picketing studios. All members are encouraged to report any writers who break these orders. They will then be tried in union hearings and disciplinary measures will be taken against them.

It is however not expected that any members violate strike rules - the strike has received an overwhelming 90% approval among its member base.

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Hollywood Dogfight: Writers' Strike Imminent

In one corner, strike-eager writers. In another corner, strike-happy moguls. Caught in the middle? Strike-anxious viewers and scripted fare like highly-serialized "24" or fragile "Pushing Daisies." Unfortunately, it is no longer a question of "if." Now it's all about "when."

Although there had been rumors a walkout could be postponed until Christmas, members of the writers' union believe the best way they can achieve their objectives is to hurt the prime-time the most. Postponing the strike would only allow the networks to bank up more episodes.

On the other side of the spectrum, there is even a group of Hollywood moguls who believe a strike may not be the worst of options since the new fall slate of programming is performing miserably with the highest rated new (ABC) shows getting 10-12 million viewers or less and all non-ABC shows scoring less than 9 million.

There are no breakout-hits and even the proven shows like "CSI," "Grey's Anatomy" and "Desperate Housewives" have lost a lot of ground bringing huge losses to the networks that promised their advertisers the kind of ratings they are no longer able to deliver.

A strike, these moguls reason, would give the networks an opportunity to get rid of the underwhelming shows, put the blame for their cancellation on writers' union and their strike, and re-think their strategies for the new season. They see the current season D.O.A.

Unfortunately, critically-acclaimed and fragile new series like "Pushing Daisies" which are doing reasonably well would probably be hurt the most as they need time to grow and develop and taking them off the air for a prolonged time would without any doubt disrupt their momentum, as die-hard fans of CBS' "Jericho" can surely confirm.

The last writers' strike in 1988 lasted 5 months and caused great damage to the TV industry when shows went off air in late March and didn't come back till November. And when they did? The ratings for most of the shows went at least 10% down.

If a strike is called this year (it may happen as early as tonight) your favorite shows will disappear by January and the schedule will be filled with several new and untested midseason series as well as a bunch of "American Idols" and "Big Brothers."

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Will Writers' Strike Kill TV Season?

Instant production shutdown of your favorite TV shows? Airwaves cluttered with repeats? Invasion of reality shows and supersized episodes of "American Idol" and "Dancing with the Stars"? It can all happen if Hollywood writers go out on strike, and rumor has it - writers union (WGA) has just got authorization from its members to call the strike. Details, after the jump.

Now before you panic, strike authorization doesn't necessarily mean there will immediately be a strike on November 1 when the current contract of WGA with AMPTP (Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers) expires.

In fact, although the authorization (which they are expected to officially announce this afternoon) gives WGA the right to call a walkout on November 1, it is likely they will continue to negotiate until Christmas.

The issue at stake is writers' cut from digital media cake - DVD, mobile and Internet distribution. When the last contract was made in 2004 WGA did not realize just how much the new media would explode and they want the writers to get their share now.

Unlike the movies where scriptwriters are expendable and have no power, writers in TV are heavily involved in production and often elevated to executive producer or showrunner status.

This is why successful writers like JJ Abrams ("LOST"), Marc Cherry ("Desperate Housewives") and Greg Berlanti ("Brothers & Sisters," pictured above with stars of his shows) start their own production companies and may have in this dispute slight conflict of interest by practically being on both sides.

Because of the dual role of these people it is not yet clear what would happen in the event of a strike. Do they simply stop writing or are they as WGA members required to completely walk out?

Matt Olmstead, showrunner of "Prison Break" says he will immediately walk out of the production as a whole, but David Shore of "House" says he will continue to work as a producer.

That means if the strike is called (the earliest time it could happen is November 1) most of the shows would have to completely shut down production although some may continue to film new episodes until the already written scripts run out.

Most shows are expected to film 10 episodes until November 1 or about 13-15 episodes until Christmas.

The networks usually air about 10 episodes of shows till Christmas and 15 by the end of February sweeps.

If there is a strike the networks will try to stretch out the already filmed episodes as much as possible, but once they burn through them, your favorite shows could go on hiatus or into repeats (as early as January or as late as March) and stay that way until 4-6 weeks after the strike is ended.

The last time a WGA strike occurred in March 1988, the 1987/88 season was cut short and the next season was delayed for more than a month.

During those 7 empty months, the networks heavily relied upon repeats, sports and newsmagazines.

Unfortunately, when the new 1988/89 season finally started in November of 1988, 10% of viewers were gone, causing huge losses to the TV industry.

By starting in the middle of the season, this year's strike could have even stronger repercussions as the networks already struggle to deliver the ratings they promised their advertisers.

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"Gossip Girl" Renewed For Full Season

The CW has announced today its freshman drama "Gossip Girl" based on the Cecily von Ziegesar bestsellers and executive produced by The O.C. creator Josh Schwartz has been renewed for a full season of 22 episodes.

The announcement was made following the release of DVR ratings for the week of September 17. "Gossip Girl" premiered on Wednesday, September 19 to 3.65 million viewers and got a 9% boost from DVR.


The following week the show lost a considerable portion of that audience scoring only 2.55 million viewers as viewers sampled the competing "Private Practice" on ABC and "The Bionic Woman" on NBC, but a week later in its third airing "Gossip Girl" went up again pulling in 2.8 million viewers.


The Upper East Side-set drama is doing well on the I-Tunes download chart and the network is also happy with its overall performance among young women and teenagers.

"Gossip Girl" is the first freshman drama series to get a full season pick-up. ABC's "Private Practice" and "Pushing Daises," CBS'"The Big Bang Theory" and NBC's "The Bionic Woman" are also strong contenders although the networks are expected to wait at least for third episode live ratings and premiere week DVR ratings to make renewal decisions.

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DVR Ratings to be Released October 16

Nielsen will release TV ratings for shows watched on DVR during the premiere week on Tuesday, October 16. Because the penetration of digital recorders in the US doubled over the past year, some shows may benefit by as much as 20%. For this reason the networks will be holding off any decisions about cancellations or rescheduling until then.

As Variety reports, the DVR penetration in the US has grown from 9% in September 2006 to over 20% at the same time this year and it continues to grow.

That means a lot of shows are getting substantial additional audience via the DVR platform, especially in affluent or tech-savvy homes.

Some shows benefit from DVR more than other - last year "LOST" and "24" were the most popular time-delayed programs.

Although Nielsen already includes DVR data for same-day viewing in the official live ratings, the networks would like to add audiences for up to 7 days.

The DVR usage is particularly high for 10 p.m. shows - they are often watched the following day because people are busy watching shows recorded earlier in the evening or they do not wish to stay up so late.

Experts believe the DVR penetration will grow to about 25% by the end of the season and may ultimately go up to 40%.

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How Much TV Advertising Costs

Have you ever wondered how much money advertisers shell out for a 30-second commercial on your favorite TV show? What are the most expensive new shows? Check out the prices, after the jump.

The most expensive show on television (I'm not including Super Bowl and special events like, for instance, the Oscars) is of course FOX's "American Idol" which will cost advertisers $700,000 dollars per 30 seconds for both Tuesday and Wednesday edition in 2008 (the show takes up top-2 places on the chart).

Because of its mammoth ratings (which actually went a bit down last season) there is a huge gap between "Idol" and the #3 show on the list, ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" which commands $465,000 per spot.

The rest of the top-10 chart looks like this:

Desperate Housewives (ABC), $378,000;
Sunday Night Football (NBC), $350,000;
Heroes (NBC), $330,000;
The Simpsons and 24 (both Fox), both $300,000, and
CSI (CBS) and House (Fox), both priced at $290,000.

The most expensive new show of the season is ABC's "Private Practice" which costs advertisers $255,000. Surprisingly, the second most expensive new show is FOX's "K-Ville" ($190,000) which posted very disappointing ratings in its 2nd week.

The rest of the top-10 chart for the most expensive new shows looks like this:

Bionic Woman (NBC), $185,000;
Back to You (FOX), $175,000;
Dirty Sexy Money (ABC), $168,000;
Journeyman (NBC), $165,000;
The Big Bang Theory (CBS), $138,000;
Cane (CBS), $128,000,
Chuck (NBC), $125,000;
Pushing Daisies (ABC), $115,000.

Finally, the 3rd most expensive show on The CW is "Gossip Girl" and it costs $109,000 per 30-seconds, which is quite a bad deal since the show generates 2 times lower ratings than the network's veteran series "Smallville" which costs only $97,000 per 30 seconds. Now you know why The CW can be happy to have "Smallville" and why "Gossip Girl" is in trouble.

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Top-20 Riche$t Celebs on TV

Forbes has come up with the list of 20 richest celebrities on US television. Take a look at tube's biggest money-makers and their respective earnings between July 2006 and June 2007, after the jump.

1. OPRAH WINFREY ($260 million)
2. JERRY SEINFELD ($60 million)
3. SIMON COWELL ($45 million)
4. DAVID LETTERMAN ($40 million)
5. DONALD TRUMP ($32 million)
5. JAY LENO ($32 million)
7. JUDGE JUDY ($30 million)
7. Dr. PHIL McGRAW ($30 million)
9. GEORGE LOPEZ ($26 million)
10. KIEFER SUTHERLAND ($22 million)

11. REGIS PHILBIN ($21 million)
12. TYRA BANKS ($18 million)
13. CELEBRITY CHEF RAY ($16 million)
14. KATIE COURIC ($15 million)
14. ELLEN DEGENERES ($15 million)
16. RYAN SEACREST ($14 million)
17. MATT LAUER ($13 million)
18. BARBARA WALTERS ($12 million)
18. DIANE SAWYER ($12 million)
20. MEREDITH VIERA ($10 million)

53-year old talk show queen Oprah Winfrey is also the richest woman in the entertainment industry and the most powerful celebrity in Hollywood.

Her media empire also includes stakes in syndicated daytime talk shows by Dr. Phil McGraw and Rachael Ray.

Winfrey is worth over $2.5 billion, as of September, 2007 and has overtaken Ebay CEO Meg Whitman as the richest self-made woman in America.

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WGA Strike: US Nets May Air Foreign Shows

Fearful of WGA strike, executives at ABC and NBC have begun discussions with foreign producers about airing finished episodes of their existing series, something they have never done before.

US shows regularly air on major networks across the globe, but US broadcast networks never air foreign-produced shows, mainly out of fear US viewers wouldn't tune into shows with non-American accents.

If WGA strike does occur (it may happen as early as Nov.1), as Variety reports, US nets could get desperate and forget about those concerns.

Nothing has been purchased yet, but both ABC and NBC are seriously looking into that option.

Recent months have shown viewers would not tolerate an unlimited amount of reality programming, so should networks lose their original production, they will be forced to come up with an alternative.

Nets will of course also look to their cable sister channels - after all ABC Family's "Kyle XY" and Sci-Fi Channel's "Battlestar Galactica" have already been successfully sampled on ABC and NBC, respectively.

Of course, if shows like "Weeds" (Showtime), "The Closer" (TNT) and "Damages" (FX) do end up on broadcast networks, the viewers will be seeing a toned-down version of these envelope-pushing dramas.

Still, the question remains - British hits such as "Footballers' Wives" (season 1 cast pictured above) have worked well for cable nets such as BBC America. But could they do the same on free-to-air broadcast networks?

Come fall, nets may have no alternative but to find out.

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I-Phone? You're Not Getting One!

There is a really fun article over at Variety about why many Hollywood showoffs won't be putting their greedy fingers on the phone that is all the rage this week. Is Apple's I-phone really worth all the hoopla?

According to the magazine, studios, networks and agencies have been busy informing employees that, despite the frequent pleas, they can't replace their Blackberry with the phone everyone seems to be drooling over.

Companies including HBO and Warner Bros. sent memos to all employees telling them to stop bugging the IT department - they're not getting an I-Phone because "it lacks key security features which make it unsuitable as a corporate email device."

The new device is also criticized for its high price ($500-$600), compatibility issues (such as not running on 3G network), being sold exclusively with plans, touch-screen keyboard which got mixed reviews, etc.

And if all that isn't enough - have you seen the lines for this thing?! Sure, you may think it looks like the coolest product on Earth, but seriously - would you wait in line for days to get a mobile phone? That's just insane.

The Variety article goes on to conclude all the ritzy-blitzy Hollywood people will, of course, get one anyway. After all, it's not only about keeping up with the Jones'. In Hollywood, one needs a phone to do all their booty calls on, and they may as well do that in style.

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Entertainment Exposed

AT THE MOVIES: "The TV Set" (Trailer)

The new Jake Kasdan comedy "The TV Set" which revolves around the process of making a network TV pilot is opening in selected theaters today. David Duchovny and Sigourney Weaver, as well as Ioan Gruffudd (Fantastic Four) and Justice Bateman (Family Ties) star.

A sharp and satirical look at the corporate politics of Hollywood-based television industry in America that some viewers may find "too inside". Sigourney Weaver shines in her role as a gutsy network president determined to crush a writer's (Duchovny) creativity and originality. The movie is rated R for language.

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TV Ratings: "Desperate Housewives" Season's Top Drama Again

Take that, "Grey's Anatomy"! "Desperate Housewives" is once again the season's top scripted program on all of broadcast networks. We take a look at this season's winners.

"Desperate Housewives" has returned to the top of the Nielsen chart beating Thursday night rivals "Grey's Anatomy" and "CSI".

The show has been averaging over 21 million viewers so far this season, while 2nd placed CSI has had 20,6 million.

"Grey's Anatomy" has been averaging 18,2 million, but its figures have been somewhat diluted due to the fact that ABC has aired more lower-rated repeat episodes of the medical drama (in its regular timeslot).

The season's top show is Tuesday night's edition of "Dancing with the Stars". "American Idol" is expected to very easily take over that honor within one week.

"LOST" has also benefited from fewer repeats. Since ABC has only aired 6 episodes thus far and they have all been original, the show came in the 8th place.

The season's top new show is NBC's "Heroes" which came in at #20 with an average of 15,2 million viewers.

Here is the season-to-date ratings chart (for week ending January 7):

1.DANCING WITH THE STARS (Tuesday) - 13,5 (20,7 million)
2.DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES - 13,2 (21 million)
3.CSI - 12,7 (20,6 million)
4.DANCING WITH THE STARS (Wednesday) - 12,7 (19,1 million)
5.GREY'S ANATOMY - 11,8 (18,2 million)
6.CSI: Miami - 11,1 (17,1 million)
7.NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL - 10,9 (17 million)
8.LOST - 10,7 (17,8 million)
9.CRIMINAL MINDS - 10,1 (15,7 million)
10.CSI: New York - 10,0 (15,4 million)

No, "The Apprentice" is not the #1 show in all of television.

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