People close to the negotiating table between the studios and the striking writers said on Saturday that a breakthrough was reached in their discussions, after weeks of stalling in talks.

On Friday the two sides finally reached a deal about the thorniest issue that triggered this strike after all: the distribution of the compensation for the projects that are transmitted over the Internet.

According to one person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t allowed to comment upon the issue, said that the agreement that was reached might be announced next week.  

No detail was given regarding the possible agreement. One of the disagreements points was about how much and when the writers should be paid for online projects after they were broadcasted on TV.

During negotiations both sides agreed to a news blackout.

The studios wanted the programs to go online for a period of time, as for promotion, while the writers would forget about payments. The companies wanted to settle to a fee of $ 1,200, while the Writers Guild of America wanted a percentage from the revenue of the distributor.

After three months of strike we might get to see finally something new on TV, even though if the agreement is reached next week, it would still get a few weeks before the shows could kick in.

Probably the immediate effect will be seen on February 24, when the Academy Awards are scheduled.

The Screen Actors Guild announced that if the writers will still be on strike by then its members will not attend the ceremony, thus threatening with another award ceremony without celebrity and glamour.

Tomorrow a videoconference is scheduled by the WGA in order to discuss the developments.

The negotiating got started on Friday after Peter Chernin, the president of News Corp., returned from London and joined the talks. His company owns the 20th Century Fox movie studio and the Fox broadcast network.

Chernin and Robert A. Iger, the chief executive of the Walt Disney Co. are the most powerful people leading the negotiating.

First the studios walked from the discussions on December 7, but after January 22 Chernin and Iger began the discussions with top officials from WGA, after an agreement was reached between producers and the Directors Guild of America.