Major studios and platforms, including Disney and Netflix, are in talks with the powerful writers’ union, Writers Guild of America (WGA)
Threat to the Mecca of cinema and audiovisual: the “late shows” and series could be suspended following a strike by thousands of American television and cinema screenwriters, from Monday (Tuesday in France). They are demanding an increase in their remuneration, while no agreement is on the horizon in Hollywood for lack of agreement, a few hours before the expiry of a notice.
The main studios and platforms (“majors”), including Disney and Netflix, are in talks with the powerful writers’ union, Writers Guild of America (WGA), which threatens if no agreement is reached to order a strike. after midnight (07:00 GMT Tuesday).
Streaming in the collimator
This strike would result in the immediate suspension of hit shows, such as “late-night shows”, and significantly delay television series and films scheduled for release this year. The last major social movement in Hollywood dates back to the scriptwriters’ strike which paralyzed the American audiovisual industry in 2007-2008. A 100-day conflict that had cost the sector two billion dollars.
Screenwriters are demanding higher pay and a bigger share of streaming profits as studios say they need to cut costs due to economic pressures. “Teveryone has the impression that there will be a strike“, said on condition of anonymity a screenwriter for television based in Los Angeles.an agreement that will determine how we are remunerated“for streaming, both now and in the future,” he added.
The screenwriters say they are struggling to make a living from their craft, with salaries stagnating or even falling due to inflation, while their employers are making profits and increasing the salaries of their executives. They believe that they have never been so numerous to work at the minimum wage set by the unions, while the television networks hire fewer people to write increasingly short series.
Netflix, sole beneficiary
One of the main disagreements is over how screenwriters are paid for streaming series, which on platforms like Netflix often remain visible for years after being written. For decades, screenwriters have received “residual rights” for the reuse of their works, for example during television reruns or DVD sales.
It is either a percentage of the revenue earned by the studios for the film or show, or a fixed sum paid for each rerun of an episode. With streaming, authors receive a fixed amount each year, even in the event of global success of their work such as series Bridgerton Or Stranger Thingsviewed by hundreds of millions of viewers worldwide.
The WGA calls for the revaluation of these amounts today “far too low in view of the massive international reuse” of these programs. She also wants to discuss the future impact of artificial intelligence on the screenwriting profession. The studios, represented by the Alliance of Film and Television Producers (AMPTP) emphasize that “residual rightspaid to screenwriters hit a record high of $494 million in 2021, up from $333 million a decade earlier, driven in large part by a boom in screenwriting jobs linked to rising demand for streaming.
Having been spendthrift in recent years, when competing broadcasters have sought to boost subscriber numbers at all costs, the bosses say they are now under heavy pressure from investors to cut spending and make profits. And they deny pretexting economic difficulties to strengthen their position in negotiations with screenwriters.
“Do you think Disney would lay off 7,000 people for fun?“, said a source close to the AMPTP. According to her, “iThere’s only one platform that’s profitable right now, and that’s Netflix.“. The movie industry “is also a very competitive sector“.