Shortly after Screen Actors Guild national executive director Doug Allen suggested suspending a strike authorization vote, he found himself out on the pavement – and not on a picket line.

After several months of stalled negotiations and a membership divided in opinion as to the next step, the SAG board voted by slim majority to terminate Allen and disband the national negotiating committee. In their place, they installed interim exec director David White, interim chief negotiator John McGuire, and a 10-member negotiating taskforce.

One of White’s first messages to SAG members was a call for factions to overcome differences and work together for the greater good of the guild. It worked great. SAG president Alan Rosenberg soon filed suit in an attempt to reinstate Allen. Watch this space for more vitrol and infighting.

While SAG’s most recent contract expired June 30 of last year, SAG and the AMPTP have made little headway in coming to new terms. Although progress has been slow, given the current state of the economy, few consider a Writers Guild of America-scale strike likely.

Over in the halls of power, Republicans first scuttled – and then a day later passed – a deal to move the digital switchover back to June 12 from its existing Feb. 17 deadline. Data released by The Nielsen Company suggests that 5.7% of U.S. households – some 6.5 million homes – were just going to have to use their imagination if the current deadline was kept.

Nielsen’s numbers were even more alarming when it came to minority households. Almost 10% of African-American and Hispanic homes, as well as 7% of Asian households would be affected. Impact would also be felt by key demographics, with almost 9% of the advertiser-loved under-35s cut off. The deal now goes to the House for approval.

And you know things are really tough when naked people start to feel the pinch. Broadcast and media empire Playboy Enterprises is taking a US$100-million write-down, and plans to merge print and online outlets.

Time Warner was hit with a US$16-billion net loss for Q4 2008, while over at Warner Bros., the studio slashed about 10% of its worldwide workforce in the last few weeks – or 800 staff. For its part, Disney-ABC will lay off 5% of its television division, numbering 400 jobs. That announcement comes after Disney property ESPN cut 200, and Disney Interactive Studios laid off 50. And it’s not just the TV folks worried at the House of Mouse – Disney recently cut 600 high-paid execs at the company’s theme parks.

Lastly, two signs that you’re not watching your grandmother’s media. In its 2009 forecast, advertising giant Deloitte predicts that 3D movies will see their first billion-dollar year at the box office. And, finally, when asked at the Google TV ads conference what was now the number-one show at 10 p.m., NBC head Jeff Zucker shrugged and said ‘TiVo’.