Hopes for a last-minute breakthrough in negotiations between Hollywood studios and the Screen Actors Guild were dashed today when contract talks ended, fueling anxiety over the prospect of another strike.

Now the studios will turn their attention to the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, the smaller actors’ union that is set to begins talks on a prime-time TV contract Wednesday.

The studios want to seal a quick deal with AFTRA so that they can pressure SAG to accept similar terms in its film and TV contract. They enlisted a similar strategy after a standoff with the Writers Guild of America, swiftly settling on a pact with directors that became the basis for the contract that ended the writers strike.

SAG is seeking more favorable terms than those the writers won, and it sparred with studios over how much money actors would receive from shows streamed online, the types of programs created for the Web that would be covered under the union’s contract and the use of clips on the Internet. They also sought substantial pay hikes for guest stars and other performers, as well as more money from DVDs.

Although SAG made some concessions, the two sides couldn’t bridge significant gaps after three weeks. A new round of talks is expected before the actors contract expires June 30.

The studios are counting on smoother talks with AFTRA, given that that union recently ratified a contract for daytime TV shows that was modeled on the recent writers pact.

After a year of feuding, AFTRA – which shares 44,000 members with SAG – recently broke off its longtime joint bargaining agreement with the bigger union.

SAG represents 120,000 movie, TV and commercial actors and accounts for the majority of earnings among both unions’ performers. AFTRA’s contract spans all forms of TV, including soap operas, reality shows and cable programs.

Although AFTRA’s contract covers actors on only a handful of prime-time shows, including “Cashmere Mafia,” it hopes to sign up more high-profile series. Traditionally, SAG’s contract has covered shows shot on film, and AFTRA has had jurisdiction over those produced on videotape. But those lines have blurred in recent years, as more shows are shot digitally, sparking a turf war between the unions.

“We’re primed and ready to go,” AFTRA President Roberta Reardon said today. “We’re very realistic about what’s on the table, what’s in the business, what we’re after and how we’re going to get it.”

Like SAG, AFTRA wants better pay for middle-class actors whose incomes have been squeezed in recent years, Reardon said, and will push for actors’ consent for the use of Web clips, among other things.

Though the contract talks give AFTRA a chance to emerge from SAG’s shadow, they could create a potential public relations problem if AFTRA accepts terms that undercut SAG’s goals. Critics in SAG have complained openly in the last year that AFTRA’s cable TV contracts sell actors short. AFTRA contends that its deals are fair and have helped expand union jobs.

“I understand there are people who are opposed to what AFTRA is doing,” Reardon said. “But we’re doing what’s best for our members.”

For their part, SAG leaders could now push for a strike authorization vote from their members, a common bargaining tactic to gain leverage. That, however, could be risky because many working actors have little appetite for a strike.

Labor negotiations often conclude at the eleventh hour. “It’s not all that surprising that if you’re not close to a deadline, you don’t get a settlement,” said Daniel J.B. Mitchell, a professor of management and public policy at UCLA. “Two months is still pretty far away.”

 richard.verrier@latimes.com

 claudia.eller@latimes.com