LOS ANGELES - The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists have ratified a contract covering TV shows such as "Oprah" and "Entertainment Tonight."

The 70,000-member union said 93 per cent of the members who voted approved the deal reached in March during talks with major Hollywood producers.

Most performers will receive a 3.5 per cent pay increase retroactive to last November. New provisions were also set up for Internet content.

The new pact will run until November 2010. Its approval was announced late Wednesday.

On Monday, the federation is set to start talks with studios on a separate contract covering a handful of primetime shows, including "Curb Your Enthusiasm."

The talks follow three weeks of negotiations between the studios and the Screen Actors Guild, which were not expected to result in a deal when the talks temporarily end on Friday.