Hollywood writers approve new contract

The Writers Guild of America says members have voted overwhelmingly to approve a new contract with Hollywood studios that increases payment for shows offered on the Internet.

The guild says the deal was endorsed by 93.6 percent of those who voted in Los Angeles and New York.

The contract was approved through a mail-in ballot that came after members were briefed two weeks ago on the deal and voted to end the 100-day strike that devastated the entertainment industry.

Under the contract, writers will get a maximum flat fee of about $1,200 for programs streamed on the Internet during the deal's first two years and then get 2 percent of a distributor's gross in year three