Members of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists have ratified a new contract with Hollywood studios that boosts payments for actors whose work appears on the Internet, the union said Tuesday.

AFTRA said 62.4 percent of voting members approved the three-year deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.

"Today's vote reflects the ability of AFTRA members to recognize a solid contract when they see it," AFTRA president Roberta Reardon said in a statement.

The vote came after fierce opposition by the rival Screen Actors Guild, the last major Hollywood union still negotiating with the studios for a new three-year contract. SAG contended a separate deal with AFTRA would dilute its clout at the bargaining table.

SAG represents 120,000 actors in movies, TV and other media. The TV and radio federation has 70,000 members including actors, singers, announcers and journalists. SAG and AFTRA share 44,000 dual members.

The contracts of both unions expired June 30, but both agreed with the studios to keep working under the old terms to avoid a shutdown of the entertainment industry.

Reardon called on the two warring actors unions to discuss a merger in the months to come.

SAG national president Alan Rosenberg asserted in a statement that AFTRA appealed to its non-acting broadcast members to pass the agreement covering acting jobs.

Studios and the actors unions have said they wanted to avoid another work stoppage like the 100-day strike by the Writers Guild of America that ended in February. That walkout stalled production on dozens of TV shows and is estimated to have cost the Los Angeles-area economy more than $2 billion.

AFTRA said its three-year deal, involving a handful of prime-time TV shows such as "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and "Rules of Engagement," establishes higher fees for downloaded content and residual payments for ad-supported Internet streams and clips.

It also sets a 90-day deadline after ratification to develop rules that would have actors consent to the use of clips in a commercial market similar to Apple Inc.'s iTunes.

The AFTRA deal boosts minimum wages by 3.5 percent in the first year of the contract, 3 percent in the second and 3.5 percent in the third. The increase is slightly greater than the bumps received by directors and writers.

SAG, the largest and most powerful actors union, is seeking increases in residual payments for appearances in DVDs, something neither writers, directors nor AFTRA could secure in their negotiations.

SAG also wants more say for actors when they are asked to endorse products within scripted shows.

Last week, the producers alliance made what it called its final offer to SAG. Producers said it provided $250 million in additional compensation over the three-year life of the contract. SAG was studying the offer and was expected to respond this week. (Ryan Nakashima, Associated Press)

FX drops pilot

"Pretty/Handsome" seemed to have all the required elements for a buzzworthy pilot: Respected creator (Ryan Murphy), well-known star (Joseph Fiennes) and provocative premise (man decides to undergo a sex change).

None of those things, however, have been able to save it. The show appears to be dead after failing to find a TV home, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

"Pretty/Handsome" was initially set up at FX, where Murphy's "Nip/Tuck" has been a strong performer. Fiennes ("Shakespeare in Love," "Running With Scissors") was set to play a married man who breaks the news to his wife and kids that he wants a sex change. The cast also included Carrie-Anne Moss, Blythe Danner and Robert Wagner.

Murphy wrote the script with fellow "Nip/Tuck" scribe Brad Falchuk and also directed the pilot. Brad Pitt was an executive producer through his company, Plan B Entertainment. FX, however, decided to pass on the pilot in the spring, the Hollywood Reporter says. Producer 20th Century Fox tried to sell the show elsewhere, but those efforts have come up empty. (Zap2it.com)

Clinton strategist joins FNC

Howard Wolfson, who served as one of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's chief strategists in this year's Democratic presidential primary race, has a new employer. Wolfson is joining Fox News as a contributor, the cable news network announced Tuesday. He will offer political analysis on a number of shows.

Wolfson is not the only Clinton ally on Fox News. Last month, the network signed attorney Lanny Davis as a political analyst. (Matea Gold, Los Angeles Times)