Hollywood writers, producers reach deal
A tentative deal was reached between screenwriters and producers Tuesday, averting a strike that could have crippled TV and film production.
The three-year agreement, which requires ratification by members of the Writers Guild of America, was confirmed by the guild and producers’ spokesman Jarryd Gonzales shortly after the current contract expired early Tuesday. The deal came after a flurry of lastminute bargaining, conducted during a media blackout that offered no tangible details about whether picket lines would go up until after midnight Tuesday.
In a memo to its members, the guild said gains were made across the board, including contributions to the union’s health plan that should “ensure its solvency for years to come” – an issue that writers considered key.
The union said it also made strides in pay for series with fewer episodes per season, and in residuals. Members overall will net US$130 million more over the contract’s life than they were expected to accept, according to the memo.
There were no details released by the producers early Tuesday.
The agreement spares the late-night shows that would immediately have gone dark without writers, and allows the networks to pursue their schedules for the upcoming TV season without interruption. Movie production would have felt a strike’s sting more gradually.
Guild members voted overwhelmingly last month to authorize a strike, and the WGA could have called for an immediate walkout Tuesday absent a deal. The previous writers’ strike extracted an estimated $2 billion toll on the state of California. The producers group said the 2007-08 strike cost writers $287 million in lost compensation.
Russ DeVol, the chief research officer at the Milken Institute, estimated a strike of similar duration would have cost California $2.5 billion today.
After the 2007-08 strike, the two sides reached agreements in 2010 and 2013, but TV writers in particular have seen their earnings slide since then and wanted to claw back some of those losses.
Driving the dispute were changes in how television is distributed, with streaming platforms including Netflix and Amazon joining broadcast and cable TV and rising in importance.
More outlets have led to more shows, but the TV season model is greatly changed. Despite the fact that there are more series than ever – 455 this season, more than double the number six years ago – shows run for fewer episodes than the traditional 22-24 episode broadcast series.