Dec. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Hollywood studios and striking writers halted labor negotiations after failing to reach an agreement on pay for using writers' work on the Internet.

Negotiations between the Writers Guild of America and the studios' Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers collapsed yesterday, the two sides said in e-mailed statements. Talks had resumed Nov. 26, three weeks after writers walked out.

Writers are seeking a bigger share of revenue from digital media, including shows aired on the Internet. The development puts the 2008 television season in jeopardy by forcing networks and studios to postpone production of some movies and TV shows. Studios and writers waited too long to make serious proposals, entertainment attorney Jonathan Handel said late yesterday.

``There never was any momentum for early substantive talks and that's why we find ourselves where we do,'' said Handel, who works for the Los Angeles firm TroyGould.

Alliance negotiator Nick Counter, in a letter to the guild, said negotiations would resume after the guild removed six demands. The union is demanding ``money that doesn't exist, restrictions that are legally dubious and control over people who have refused to join their union,'' Counter said in the statement on the studios' Web site.

Ready to Talk

The guild, meanwhile, said it was ready to resume talks as soon as the studios indicated they were willing, Jeff Hermanson, the guild's assistant executive director, said today.

The stalemate may prompt the studios to seek a quick agreement with the Directors Guild of America, whose contract expires in June, Handel said.

Studio negotiators broke off the talks after rejecting a union proposal on revenue for Internet broadcasts, the guild said in its statement. The union remains willing to talk, it said.

``They walked away leaving us sitting at the table,'' Hermanson said in an interview late yesterday. ``We're not leaving the table.''

The strike forced the networks to air reruns of late-night talk shows and delay production of some dramas and comedies, including News Corp.'s ``Back to You.'' Sony Corp. postponed the release of ``Angels & Demons,'' a movie based on Dan Brown's book, because of the strike.

Most scripted television shows are expected to stop production by next week, putting 15,000 people out of work, the Los Angeles Times reported. Networks, which already have shut down more than 50 shows, may lose tens of millions of dollars if they are forced to give free commercial time to sponsors because of the drop in ratings, the newspaper said.

`Personal Agendas'

If the strike continues, studios also may invoke clauses in contracts that will allow them to stop paying producers and others, the Times said.

Writers are seeking higher pay for digital sales. In a Dec. 5 proposal, the union asked for 3 percent of the ``minimum applicable,'' or $632 for an hour-long show, each time a show is broadcast as many as 100,000 times on the Internet. Writers would get similar increases for each additional 100,000 broadcasts.

In their statement yesterday, the studios rejected the guild's plan and a proposal to extend union control over so- called reality programs. The studios also were unwilling to accept a proposal to allow guild members to walk out in support of strikes by other unions, the alliance said.

``The WGA's organizers are determined to advance their own political ideologies and personal agendas at the expense of working writers and every other working person who depends on our industry for their livelihoods,'' according to the statement.

DGA Negotiations

The guild earlier yesterday accused the studios of trying to scuttle the talks. In an e-mailed statement, writers called for discussions to continue through the Christmas and New Year holidays if necessary.

Allegations of foot-dragging were false, Jesse Hiestand, a spokesman for the alliance, said in an e-mail. He said studio negotiators were attending meetings and working for a resolution of the strike.

The guild contract is the first of three that the studios must renegotiate in coming months. In addition to the Directors Guild of America, the contract with the Screen Actors Guild expires in June of 2008.

The studios may make a quick deal with the directors, a move that would undermine the writers guild, Handel said. Because directors typically make more in upfront fees and depend less on residuals, the issue of digital media is less important, he said.

``The writers are facing a squeeze play,'' Handel said.

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

Last Updated: December 8, 2007 13:29 EST