Actors Agree to Extend Contract

Actors and advertisers agreed Friday to discuss radical changes to the system of paying people who appear in commercials as part of a two-year extension of their current contract.

The two unions representing actors agreed to the extension while both sides hire a consultant to recommend alternative compensation methods for ads that appear on television, radio, the Internet and other new media platforms.

Advertisers have been scrambling to find new ways to reach consumers who are skipping 30-second spots on television by using digital video recorders or consuming more entertainment on the Internet or portable devices such as cellphones.

Under the terms of the extension, which must still be approved by both unions, advertisers agreed to raise pay by 6% and to increase contributions to the unions’ pension and health fund.

Advertisers also agreed to guarantee the unions jurisdiction over all advertising that appears on the Internet, cellphones or other new media platforms that might become popular ways to consume entertainment.

In return, the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists agreed to give advertisers more flexibility to experiment with new forms of ads.

Advertisers will, for a limited period, be able to edit commercials for use on the Internet without paying extra fees to actors. Previously, any edit of an existing ad counted as a new commercial that would trigger new fees.

Both sides also agreed to allow actors to freely negotiate for new media ads rather than be locked into preset minimum fees.