Big media companies are often prepared to pay a lot of money to prove that they "get" the Internet. But the generosity ends the moment the deal goes through, as the employees of Television Without Pity, a TV-lovers' site acquired by Bravo last month, are now learning.

On March 14—the morning after the sale was announced—TWoP's "recappers" (writers who summarize show episodes), received new contracts via FedEx. The contracts sought to lock them in at the rate they had been earning, $100 per write-up (with minor relief from moderating the online discussion boards).

The offer was greeted with indignation by the recappers, who typically spend five to 10 hours on each summary. "It's one thing to make very little money when you're working for a startup," says one writer. "But there's no reason we should be paid these rates when we're at-will employees of a big corporation." (Bravo is part of media giant NBC Universal.)

To avert a mutiny, TWoP's founders, Sarah Bunting and Tara Ariano, went back to Bravo to seek more money for the writers. Bunting and Ariano declined to comment, but a source says Bravo refused, telling them any raises would have to come out of the existing budget. Finally, the recappers were offered a compromise deal last week: $250 per recap—or $100 less than the group agreed it would settle for. All that now remains to be seen is how many of them will opt out. "A lot of us had happily done this for years because we knew the founder personally or we liked having the outlet for writing," says the writer. "But now we'd like our money."