The Actors' Union And Hollywood Studios Have Halted Negotiations

The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers announced the suspension of negotiations with SAG-AFTRA, the union that represents approximately 160,000 actors, late on Wednesday.

The AMPTP issued the following statement: “It is clear from meaningful discussions that the gap between the AMPTP and SAG-AFTRA is too great, and discussions no longer advance us in a constructive direction.”

The suspension occurred subsequent to the actors’ union submitting its most recent proposal to the AMPTP, as stated by the studios.

According to AMPTP, the most recent proposal from the union “included a viewership bonus that, in isolation, would cost over $800 million annually — an economically burdensome amount.” SAG-AFTRA made minimal, if any, progress regarding the extensive number of unresolved matters.

Thursday at the Bloomberg Screentime conference, Ted Sarandos, co-CEO of Netflix, stated, “Last night’s events were neither consistent nor progressive.”

Sarandos asserts that the executives of major studios extended to SAG-AFTRA a “success-based bonus” comparable to the one officially sanctioned in the WGA’s agreement. Conversely, SAG-AFTRA put forth an additional proposition in the form of a levy on subscribers, whereby the union would collect a specified sum of money for each subscriber.

“I am certain that every single one of these guilds is unique and has distinct requirements,” Sarandos stated. “However, adding a levy on top of our revenue or per subscriber without any visibility into the revenue per subscriber or anything else made it seem like an unnecessary bridge to cross so early in the negotiations.”

The actors’ union lashed out at Hollywood studios on Wednesday, accusing them of offering a contract that lacked the actors’ essential demands regarding AI control and failed to provide adequate wage increases. The WGA writers union was commended by the union for advocating for improved terms, and the union encouraged its members to follow suit.

The actors’ union issued the following statement on X: “The companies are employing the same ineffective strategy they attempted to inflict on the WGA – disseminating false information to deceive our members into abandoning our solidarity and exerting pressure on our negotiators.” “However, similar to the writers, our members are more astute and will not be duped.”

A “first-of-its-kind success-based residual for high-budget SVOD productions” and a number of AI protections were among the offers that AMPTP reportedly presented to the union during this round of negotiations.

Subscription video on demand (SVOD) encompasses streaming services such as Amazon Prime Video and Netflix.

SAG-AFTRA commenced its strike on July 14, roughly two months subsequent to the commencement of the writers’ strike.

The conclusion of the writers’ strike occurred in late September, and on October 9, Writers Guild of America members ratified a new contract with television and film studios.

The Actors’ Union And Hollywood Studios Have Halted Negotiations

The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers announced the suspension of negotiations with SAG-AFTRA, the union that represents approximately 160,000 actors, late on Wednesday.

Thursday at the Bloomberg Screentime conference, Ted Sarandos, co-CEO of Netflix, stated, “Last night’s events were neither consistent nor progressive.”

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