Writers' strike sends many late-nighttalk shows to reruns

LOS ANGELES -- Americans may be getting more sleep after Hollywood writers went on strike Monday and forced the nation's late-night talk shows to start airing reruns.

NBC said the "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" will immediately air repeats.

Still, Leno made an appearance at the Burbank studio, arriving on a motorcycle to visit strikers walking a picket line.

CBS said "The Late Show with David Letterman" will also offer repeats all week. The list of casualties included every other major late-night show.

The first strike by Hollywood writers in nearly 20 years got underway with noisy pickets on both coasts after last-minute negotiations on Sunday failed to produce a deal on payments to writers from shows offered on the Internet.

Nick Counter, chief negotiator for the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, said he expected a long standoff.

"We're hunkered down for a long one," he said. "From our standpoint, we made every good faith effort to negotiate a deal, and they went on strike. At some point, conversations will take place. But not now."

The strike will not immediately affect production of movies or prime-time TV programs. Most studios have stockpiled dozens of movie scripts, and TV shows have enough scripts or completed shows in hand to last until early next year.

Writers have not gone on strike since 1988, when the walkout lasted 22 weeks and cost the industry more than $500 million.

The battle has broad implications for the way Hollywood does business, because whatever deal is struck by writers will likely be used as a template for talks with actors and directors, whose contracts expire next June.

Talks began in July and continued after the writers contract expired last Wednesday.

In Los Angeles, writers planned to picket 14 studio locations in four-hour shifts from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day until a new deal is reached

Networks said other late-night show bound for reruns included "The Daily Show," "Colbert Report," "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson," "Late Night with Conan O'Brien," "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" and "Last Call with Carson Daly."