The prognosis, all parties agree, is not good. This time, we turn our attention to the advertising industry's chief negotiator McGuinn, a 25 year veteran at the bargaining table, who says he is surprised by the hardline and somewhat enigmatic strategies employed by his negotiating opponents. If it is light at the end of the tunnel you seek, now is not the time to ask McGuinn how soon this labor dispute will end. As the interview unfolds and question of a possible resolution is posed, one cannot help but read between the lines of McGuinn's answers. The strike is in its fourth month.
Nobody seems to predict a quick end.
The most major one is the pay structure. We want to go from a network television pay per play structure to a guaranteed upfront residual payment. The union is seeking to extend the pay per play from network television into cable. And we are resisting that. Back then, we were willing to pay a premium for that coverage.