On the same day that the trade press was reporting substantial progress in the actors' strike against advertisers, negotiations between the two sides collapsed Wednesday.

SAG president William Daniels accused the advertisers of leaving "the human equation" out of their considerations.

Published reports said today (Thursday) that SAG and AFTRA negotiators had rejected a 90-day "cooling off period" proposed by federal mediators, under which the actors would return to work.

The unions reportedly responded that such an arrangement would allow the advertisers to create a backlog of new commercials that they could use to strengthen their hand when talks resumed.

Source: Studio Briefing