Members of SAG-AFTRA will soon return to striking on picket lines after negotiations fell through with industry CEOs. This comes after studios reportedly suspended contract talks with striking actors.
On October 2 and 4, SAG-AFTRA representatives met with CEOS to discuss contract talks and negotiations. This is the first time they have met since the strike began on July 13.
Representatives asked for protections against actors being replaced by AI, an increase in wages and have asked for a portion of streaming revenue generated from their work.
Studios have reportedly walked away from the negotiating table after offering a deal considerably less than the one provided when the strike first began which shocked union leaders.
In a statement made on October 12, the union stated “We have made big, meaningful counters on our end, including completely transforming our revenue share proposal, which would cost the companies less than 57¢ per subscriber each year. They have rejected our proposals and refused to counter.”
The main thing the union and studios are butting heads about is the new breakdown in streaming revenue.
The deal SAG-AFTRA proposed would require each streaming platform to pay 57 cents per subscriber per year, equaling about 500 million dollars per year across all platforms.
This money would go into a fund monitored by union trustees. It would be administered to actors whose work appears on streaming platforms and based on the show’s viewership.
The deal studios offered was a “success-based bonus,” like the one accepted by the WGA in late September. In the studio’s deal, actors would receive extra pay based on their success in most watched shows, with the extra totaling about 20 million dollars annually.
The studio’s proposal would rely on Parrot Analytics to assign the show value to give out bonuses.
There are currently no talks to return to the negotiation table. SAG-AFTRA will remain on strike until negotiations are made.
