Feb. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Hollywood writers begin returning to work today after voting to end a three-month strike that idled 50,000 film and television workers.

Writers Guild of America members voted 93 percent in favor of ending the walkout that began Nov. 5, Patric Verrone, president of the union's western unit, said last night at the Writers Guild Theater in Beverly Hills, California.

Broadcasters may need six to eight weeks to return to full production, union and industry officials said. Talk shows may resume normal work in a day or so, while dramas may take as long as eight weeks, Michael Winship, president of the guild's eastern unit, said in an interview. The strike cost the Los Angeles economy $2.1 billion, according to economist Jack Kyser.

``Everybody is excited about getting back to work,'' Leslie Moonves, chief executive officer of CBS Corp., said in an interview late yesterday. ``We're going to get as many shows back into production as quickly as possible.''

New episodes of ``Two and a Half Men,'' ``CSI: Miami,'' and ``Cold Case'' will be on the air next month, New York-based CBS said today in a statement.

Walt Disney Co.'s ABC hopes to have five or six new episodes of its most popular shows including ``Desperate Housewives'' and ``Grey's Anatomy'' back on the air beginning in April, spokeswoman Hope Hartman said today in an interview. ABC this week ordered new seasons of nine scripted shows including `Ugly Betty'' and ``Lost.''

News Corp.'s Fox television network hasn't made a decision about returning shows, spokesman Scott Grogin said.

`Ratified Overwhelmingly'

Union leaders urged writers in an e-mailed letter to return to work today. The WGA said 3,775 members voted yesterday in New York and Los Angeles, with only 283 against ending the strike. Members will vote to ratify the new contract by mail or at Feb. 25 meetings, the guild said.

``We expect the agreement to be ratified overwhelmingly,'' Verrone said.

The contract gives writers a pay raise and compensation for the use of shows aired over the Internet and mobile devices. The proposal, similar to an agreement reached by the Directors Guild of America last month, was outlined to union members over the weekend at meetings in Los Angeles and New York.

The union reached the accord with the studios' Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, representing CBS; Disney ; Twentieth Century Fox owner News Corp.; Viacom Inc., owner of Paramount studios; General Electric Co.'s NBC Universal; Sony Corp.; and Time Warner Inc., owner of Warner Bros.

``This is a day of relief,'' the companies' CEOs said in a joint statement. ``We can now all get back to work.''

Viewers

Getting shows back on the air quickly will help the networks reclaim viewers, attorney Jonathan Handel of TroyGould in Los Angeles, said Feb. 10.

After the 1988 writers strike, broadcasters lost about 10 percent of their viewers to cable, Handel said. This time the Internet and video games are also vying for viewers' attention.

``On the TV side, the ramp-up will be very rapid,'' Michael Lynton, CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment, said in an interview. Sony produces ``Rules of Engagement'' for CBS.

The strike by 10,500 union members halted production on scripted television shows and movies. More than 40,000 members of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees in the U.S. and Canada also lost jobs, according to Katherine Orloff, a spokeswoman for IATSE.

The three-year agreement, if ratified, will give writers minimum pay increases of 3 percent to 3.5 percent a year. The third year also provides them 2 percent of the advertising sales received by networks for shows streamed on the Internet, one of the union's crucial demands.

Oscars Saved

The decision to end the strike averts a possible boycott of the Feb. 24 Academy Awards by actors that would have forced Disney's ABC to air a show of film clips and Oscar history.

``The 80th Academy Awards presentation can now proceed full steam ahead,'' Sid Ganis, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, said in a statement.

Members of the Screen Actors Guild boycotted last month's Golden Globe awards, reducing that telecast to a half-hour news conference.

Performers including George Clooney, nominated for best actor for his role in the legal drama ``Michael Clayton,'' had said they wouldn't cross picket lines to attend the Oscars.

The strike's cost to the Los Angeles economy extended to businesses such as restaurants that serve the industry, said Kyser, chief economist for the Los Angeles Economic Development Corp., a private research firm.

Lost Pay

Writers lost about $278 million in pay and other unionized workers, including stagehands, about $471 million, Kyser estimated on Feb. 11. Studios saved $500 million in production costs, he estimated.

``Short term, we said the strike would have no adverse effect on CBS Corp. and I can affirm that's still true,'' Moonves said. ``In fact, from a cost perspective, it's slightly positive.''

Some of that money will never make its way back into the economy because television networks will make fewer pilot episodes of new shows, Kyser said.

``Even after the contract is signed it won't be business as usual,'' Kyser said in an interview.

Disney, based in Burbank, California, rose 75 cents to $32.78 at 4:01 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. Before today, the shares has lost 3.4 percent since the strike began.

Time Warner, down 7.3 percent in the same period, advanced 36 cents to $16.58. Class A shares of News Corp., off 9.2 percent during the walkout, fell 12 cents to $19.25. Viacom Class B shares rose 59 cents to $40.73 and have declined 2 percent. CBS rose 71 cents to $25.43 and is down 8.1 percent. The four companies are based in New York.

Sony American depositary receipts rose $1.15 to $44.81 and have fallen 9.5 percent. General Electric, in Fairfield, Connecticut, gained 61 cents to $34.98 and have declined 13 percent during the strike.

To contact the reporter on this story: Andy Fixmer in Los Angeles at afixmer@bloomberg.net; Michael White in Los Angeles at mwhite8@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: February 13, 2008 16:07 EST