Personally, from what few details I've gathered, I side with the studios. The entire idea of royalties has always rubbed me wrong and it's not like the writers are writing anything more than what they're being paid to write. The people being hurt most by this are the consumers.
The idea of royalties has a lot to do with the fact that it's the writer's initial creation, their own creative entity, that's getting resold over and over again - and so they should get some of the profits as it gets sold across different mediums. The idea is that below-the-line workers get hourly wages because their work is labor-based and are only needed once. A writer's work, however, creates a new entity that belongs to them. Writers survive on royalties because it takes anywhere from weeks to years to write a script for television or movies. The time is their investment into future profits. Imagine putting money into a stock and having your bank take 99% of the profits, even though it's your initial investment in that stock that helped it grow.
Basically, without royalties the growing profit that lasts for years would only go to the production companies. Directors, writers, and even producers, wouldn't get a penny after their initial wages. These type of workers risk a lot going into a profession where they may only get once chance at a successfully screenplay, and thus are compensated with royalties for their risk. A traditional worker has a more tangible skill that can get them a job anywhere in their field. Writers are a dime a dozen and depend on the growing profits of their creation to survive.
That said, Heroes is definitely making a comeback. I'm extremely happy with the direction it's taking... However, I feel strongly that this strike is important. I'm hoping the actors decide not to cross the picket line until the strike is over, even if it means that we won't get to see the end of this arc. Some writer's kid's college education is a hell of a lot more important than an hour of entertainment.