STRIKE COVERAGE: Letterman to Pay Staffers Through End of Year

CBS Late-Night Host's Worldwide Pants Production Company Handles The Late Show with David Letterman, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson

By Ben Grossman -- Broadcasting & Cable, 11/14/2007 10:43:00 PM

David Letterman told his staff he will pay them through at least the end of the calendar year, according to multiple sources.

Staffers from both The Late Show with David Letterman and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson -- both owned by Letterman’s Worldwide Pants -- will receive different percentages of their salaries based on how much they are making, according to those sources.

Letterman’s decision comes on the heels of NBC informing non-writing staffers of its late-night shows that paychecks could dry up as soon as the end of this week. Letterman’s decision, though, does not necessarily mean he is out until the end of the year.

Late-night hosts continue to weigh their options as far as if and when to return to work without writers.

Many expect Letterman at some point to be the first to return to work, followed by other hosts, much as the industry followed Johnny Carson’s lead during the 1988 strike.

Spokespeople for production company Worldwide Pants had yet to return phone calls or e-mails seeking comment at press time.

For full coverage of the strike, click here.