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While the Writers Guild of America had already given approval for its representives to call a strike, things have moved to the level where its either get a deal done or they will strike starting Monday. It's been 20 years since the last strike.

Obviously there's more tension on each side this time around, as I haven't heard any talk of agreeing to continue negotiations under the former contract; something that's been done in the past. The two sides are evidently still far apart on the issues.

The former contract officially expired on Friday, and the union won't go any further than Sunday before striking they say. If there's no agreement, the strike will start at 3:01 a.m. EST and picket lines would go up in Los Angeles and New York City.

Most of the deadlock is over the DVD residuals and new platforms which content is delivered on. The Guild wants a bigger piece of the pie.

John Bowman, chairman of the union's negotiating committee said, "We have 48 hours and what we really want to do is negotiate. We have to inflict as much damage as quickly as possible in order to get this thing over."

If no agreement is reached, the immediate impact will be on late-night talks shows, which depend upon jokes related to current events and topics.

Secondarily, sitcoms and dramas during the prime-time hours will be the next victims if it goes that long, as at this time there are enough scripts to run through either January or February.

The strongest are from the producers' side is the film industry, which has enough screenplays in place to last through 2008.

The one thing different than in the past is the ability for TV networks to use unscripted reality fare; something it seems they feel puts them in a strong position. They don't need the writers to implement those shows.

From the viewpoint of the studios, represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, their bargaining arm, they say that the new media platforms are still in an experimental stage or used for promotional purposes, and union demands would hurt them at the time when production costs are increasing and piracy rampant.

As far as the new media platforms, the studios actually have a good point, as it is still in the experimental stage, and they aren't able to measure yet how productive it will be.

The one area they do have a better handle on is with the sale of DVDs, which they are able to make a better decision based on data available over a longer, proven period of time.

On Sunday there's a meeting set for 10 a.m., if there is no agreement we'll probably see a strike. Estimate are if it lasts as long as the previous 22 week strike, it could end up costing up to $1 billion.

The writers want a compensation package of $220 million over a three-year period.