CC: Vincentas Liskauskas (Unsplash)
The Writers Guild of America (WGA) has formally ended its strike action against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), with union leaders voting “unanimously” for a new three-year deal and revealing details of the agreement.
The WGA members put down tools in May, forcing production hiatuses for US studios including Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount and NBCUniversal, as well as streamers such as Netflix and Apple TV+.
But with the strike nearing 150 days and a near $5bn cost to the Californian economy, WGA members were told they could return to work from 00.01am PT today after the WGA’s East and West coast leaders voted for the Minimum Basic Agreement (MBA).
A ratification vote by all 11,500 members will take place during the week starting 2 October, but the new deal is expected to pass with ease.
New-look package
The new pact, which the WGA described as “exceptional” earlier this week, runs to May 2026 and provides a minimum 5% pay increase, with a further 4% rise on 2 May 2024 and a 3.5% bump on 5 May 2025.
Across three years, the rise equates to a compound rate of 13%, down from the almost 17% increase the WGA had initially sought but considerably up on the initial AMPTP offer, which the writers union had said would be 4% in year one, followed by annual upticks of 3% and 2% (overall a 9% increase).
The pay increases apply to seasons where the first episodes is written after 1 December, 2023.
The 94-page contract also includes a new formula for residuals, one of the major sticking points during discussions.
The WGA contract summary explained: “Foreign streaming residuals will now be based on the streaming service’s number of foreign subscribers for services available globally, amounting to a 76% increase (including a 2.5% base increase) to the foreign residual for the services with the largest global subscriber bases over three years.”
It means that Netflix’s three-year foreign residual, for example, will increase from the current $18,684 for a one-hour episode to $32,830.
With shows made for streamers that are viewed by 20% or more of domestic subscribers in the first 90 days of release, writers will receive a bonus equal to 50% of the fixed domestic and foreign residual (despite the views being calculated based only on US audiences).
The bonus also applies to shows or films in the first 90 days of any “subsequent exhibition year”, but would not apply to series made for TV that are then moved onto streamers, meaning those behind Suits would not benefit from the recent uptick in viewership on Netflix.
The WGA told members: “For instance, projects written under the new MBA on the largest streaming services would receive a bonus of $9,031 for a half-hour episode, $16,415 for a one-hour episode, or $40,500 for a streaming feature over $30 million in budget.”
Payments will be applied to projects released on or after 1 January, 2024.
AMPTP members have also agreed to provide confidential viewing figures on originals, namely the total number of hours streamed in the US and globally, which the WGA can then share with members in “aggregated form.”
Writers rooms & AI improvements
There were also wins for the WGA on the use of writers rooms. Where before there had been no minimum, from 1 December, development rooms (aka pre-greenlight rooms) with three writer-producers (including the showrunner) must be guaranteed 10 consecutive weeks of employment.
For these rooms, a “development room premium” rate will apply for a staff writer that will stand at $6,959, while a story editor/executive story editor will receive $12,978 and a writer-producer gets $14,214.
The WGA’s contract summary continued: “Development rooms where writers are guaranteed 20 weeks of work or more are treated as post-greenlight rooms. For these rooms on first season shows, the minimum staff size required will be three writer-producers (including the showrunner).
“For these rooms in the second or subsequent season of a show the required minimum number of writers is determined by the anticipated episode order.”
For so-called ‘post-greenlight’ rooms, where writers are guaranteed 20 weeks of work or more, the minimum number of writers depends on the number of episodes ordered.
For shows with six or fewer episodes, there’s a minimum of three writer-producers and three writers (these are usually more junior roles).
For shows with 7 to 12 eps, there must be five writers and three writer-producers; while for shows of 13 eps or more, there must be six writers and three writer-producers. The above will not apply to shows penned by a single writer.
The WGA has also secured roles for writers as shows move into production, designed to ensure newer entrants receive experience throughout the production process.
For single-camera series made for streaming and pay TV that are exclusively filmed in the US and Canada, two writer-producers must be employed for the lesser of 20 weeks of production or the duration of production along with the showrunner.
“The two writer positions can be used for more than two writers provided that the total weeks worked by the additional writers adds up to the minimum required number for each position,” the WGA explained in its summary, available in full here. https://www.wgacontract2023.org/the-campaign/summary-of-the-2023-wga-mba
On the use of artificial intelligence, the WGA said the deal forbid the use of AI to write or rewrite literary material. AI-created content will also not be viewed as source material.
The contract summary explained: “AI can’t write or rewrite literary material, and AI-generated material will not be considered source material under the MBA, meaning that AI-generated material can’t be used to undermine a writer’s credit or separated rights.
“A writer can choose to use AI when performing writing services, if the company consents and provided that the writer follows applicable company policies, but the company can’t require the writer to use AI software (e.g., ChatGPT) when performing writing services.
“The Company must disclose to the writer if any materials given to the writer have been generated by AI or incorporate AI-generated material.
“The WGA reserves the right to assert that exploitation of writers’ material to train AI is prohibited by MBA or other law.”
In its note to members, the WGA’s negotiating committee described the new agreement as “an exceptional deal, with gains and protections for members in every sector of the business.”
While writers are returning to work, the SAG-AFTRA strike means most non-talkshow productions are unlikely to return to filming just yet.
The WGA deal is, however, likely to speed up negotiations between the AMPTP and SAG-AFTRA.
Background & context
Hopes of a deal have been rising over the past six weeks, following a counter offer made by the AMPTP that was described by the WGA as “neither nothing, nor nearly enough”.
First put forward on 11 August but only made public a week later, the studio and streamer union president Carol Lombardini describing the “comprehensive package” as meeting “the priority concerns” of writers, but the WGA said that the overall package “failed to sufficiently protect writers” and required further discussion.
Talks were then formally restarted last week with the intense discussions taking place over recent days leading to yesterday’s news.
The WGA has been on strike since 2 May, with actor’s union SAG-AFTRA also halting work, bringing Hollywood productions to a standstill and costing the California economy around $5bn.
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