As the Hollywood writer’s strike moves into its second month, networks are beginning to play hardball. ABC has suspended to pay to all staff on “Jimmy Kimmel Live.” The suspension includes host Jimmy Kimmel who had been paying staff out of his own pocket.
Other late night hosts like NBC’s Conan O’Brien and CBS’ David Letterman have been paying staffers out of their own earnings as well.
Most recently, Carson Daly went back into production on his late night show “Last Call with Carson Daly.”
Daly said the network gave him an ultimatum, basically demanding that he go back to work or everyone gets fired. “If I had not been back on the air tonight, 75 members of my loyal staff and crew were going to get laid off; that’s really the only reason… They’re people that, when we moved this show from New York to L.A., uprooted their lives, moved their families, all out of loyalty to me.”
