Hollywood's striking writers and major studios have reached the outlines of a new employment contract, resolving key sticking points over how much writers should be paid for work that is distributed over the Internet, people familiar with the negotiations said Saturday.
A final contract could be presented to the Writers Guild of America board as early as Friday, according to three people close to the talks who asked not to be identified because the negotiations are confidential.
The 3-month-old strike is expected to end once the board approves the contract.
The tentative deal came after two weeks of talks that culminated in a marathon bargaining session Friday that was attended by News Corp. President Peter Chernin, Walt Disney Chief Executive Robert A. Iger and Writers Guild of America negotiators David Young, Patrick M. Verrone and John F. Bowman.
Progress had been made in previous meetings on payment for work sold online, but Friday's session saw a breakthrough on the most contentious issue: compensation for the free streaming of films and TV programs over the Internet.
Representatives of the Writers Guild and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents the studios, declined to comment, citing a media blackout.
Attorneys from the studios and the guild were meeting over the weekend to discuss contract language for the proposed agreement, which would need to be ratified by the union's 10,500 members. Even before a vote by members, the strike would probably be called off if board members strongly endorse the deal.
There are some issues that have yet to be resolved, including defining what qualifies as promotion on the Internet. The debate centers on the extent to which networks can run video clips and other materials on their websites to promote TV programs before paying writers.
Both the writers and the studios faced rising pressures to find a way to end Hollywood's costliest strike in two decades.
Concluding the strike would allow thousands of workers who lost their jobs when television production shut down to return to work. It would also allow the broadcast networks to salvage the upcoming fall season. Production of pilots is scheduled to begin this month.
An end to the strike would also ensure that Hollywood's most glamorous party, the Feb. 24 Academy Awards, would air on ABC as scheduled. Last month's Golden Globes were dramatically scaled back after writers and many actors refused to cross the picket line. The Oscars would likely have faced similar boycotts.
