By Kofi Outlaw

A three-year deal was struck this week, between the Director’s Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. The tentative agreement will:

Establish DGA jurisdiction over programs produced for distribution on the Internet;

Boost the residuals formula for paid Internet downloads by double the current rate;

And establish residual rates for ad-supported streaming and use of clips over the Internet.

These demands mirror those sought after by the currently striking WGA, almost to the letter. This sudden concession by the AMPTP is a clear sign that their position is starting to give—a theory corroborated by a statement the organization released, following the announcement of the deal with the DGA.

“The agreement between the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers and the Directors Guild of America establishes an important precedent: Our industry’s creative talent will now participate financially in every emerging area of new media. The agreement demonstrates beyond any doubt that our industry’s producers are willing and able to work with the creators of entertainment content to establish fair and flexible rules for this fast-changing marketplace.

“We hope that this agreement with DGA will signal the beginning of the end of this extremely difficult period for our industry. Today, we invite the Writers Guild of America to engage with us in a series of informal discussions similar to the productive process that led us to a deal with the DGA to determine whether there is a reasonable basis for returning to formal bargaining. We look forward to these discussions, and to the day when our entire industry gets back to work.”

Wow. That debacle with this year’s Golden Globes, the looming threat of a disrupted Oscars, and the loss of revenue from stalled TV shows, and under-promoted films, must have really taken its toll on the AMPTP. That, or those oily directors finally used their clout to help foster peace.

Either way, it seems as though the Hollywood strike may soon be coming to a close, provided that the WGA and AMPTP can both keep cool heads during negotiations, and the AMPTP’s intentions prove sincere, rather than a cunning ploy to assuage the mob, without having to actually acquiesce to the their terms for a long period of time.