The Hollywood writers averted their strike at the last-minute after a deal was announced shortly after a May 1 deadline.

An agreement was reached for a new three-year contract minutes after the previous contract was expired at midnight in Los Angeles.

The Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers released a joint statement on the deal: “The Writers Guilds of America, West and East and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers have concluded negotiations and have reached a tentative agreement on terms for a new three-year collective bargaining agreement.”

The details of the terms are not known yet, but the former Writers Guild president Patric Verrone, who was involved in the negotiations, said that it was a “good deal” for writers.

Several unresolved issues remained during the final hours of haggling with the studio representatives. The issue included payments to shore up the Writers Guild’s health plan and “wage parity”, a set payment minimum regardless of medium or budget.

A contract across the television and film industries that expires every three years was at stake, with the Writers Guilds aiming for a deal worth $535 million, but studios offered $180 million. The Writers Guilds called an authorization ballot on 25th April that revealed more than 96 percent of voters had backed a strike.

The failure to reach a contract deal would have made industrial action inevitable, which would have had consequences for the industry, such as television shows shutdowns, film production delays and millions of dollars potentially lost.

The last major Hollywood writers strike, between November 2007 and February 2008, caused a $2.5 billion loss to the film and television industry.

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