Dear Modern Family Showrunners: Give the Actors What They Want

As you have probably heard by now, the cast of Modern Family decided not to go to work yesterday, and decided to stay home and sue their employers instead. There are a lot of people online raging about greedy actors who should be happy making in a single episode more than many people make in a year. But, it's really a question of scale.
According to Forbes.com, Modern Family currently pulls in about $164 million a year. When you look at it that way, the $60K per episode that five of the six adult cast members make is a tiny, tiny portion of profits. (Ed O'Neill has his own deal, but is reported to have joined the lawsuit solidarity with his castmates.)
But, it's not just about the current earnings; it never is. The hit show is very close to a magic number: 100 episodes. (The show is at 72 now.) Once a show passes that 100 episode milestone, it can be sold for daily syndication. Why 100? Because that allows networks to air five episodes a week for twenty weeks of the year without a repeat. Many sitcoms run at low profits or even a deficit to get to that magic, make-money-forever number because they know they'll make their money back, and then some. How much money? TV Week says that Seinfeld has made roughly $3 billion since going off the air. Two and a Half Men is estimated to make $4 million for every episode in syndication. It's easy to imagine that Modern Family will see similar numbers.
The Modern Family actors are a huge part of the series success. They deserve a piece of the pie.
Photo: StarCam
Source: http://blog.starcam.com/post/Dear-Modern-Family-Showrunners-Give-the-Actors-What-They-Want.aspx