The shutdown has had a lot riding on it for everyone
Andy Marken October 2, 2023
0 Comments
The Beast is a sentient creature who represents the highest form of humans' evolution. He believes the time of ordinary humanity is over. I hope this makes you feel calm. You will be in the presence of something greater. Dennis, Split, Universal Pictures, 2017
Source Split Universal Pictures
Right about now, both sides of the first joint WGA/SAG-AFTRA (writers/actors) walkout in more than 60 years and their adversaries, AMPTP (studios, networks, streamers), have finally found one thing this would be a great business if it weren't for the people.
Even the simplest of issues - pay increases and streaming residuals - have yes but and how about problems that can be worked out so that neither side is happy with it but that's what makes a good agreement.
And when you have about 20,000 writers and 160,000 entertainment professionals involved, there will be a lot of questions and issues that go unanswered or aren't addressed.
The biggest challenge is that the two unions are different from most unions.
Consider the UAW, the UPS drivers union, hotel staff unions or teachers unions. The pay, challenges, pain points are similar if you've been a member for one year, 10 years or
With the WGA/SAG-AFTRA, there are perhaps 10 percent of these folks (A-listers) that AMPTP members actively solicit for specific projects, and they usually negotiate their specific contracts.
Most are folks you may kinda recognize from something you don't really recall, someone who has been diligently/effectively doing their job for years or newer members who want to perfect/refine their expertise and work in a business they like/love.
On the other side of the table are the 350 AMPTP members, many of whom took a much needed break in mid-July to take their private planes to the annual Allen & Co Sun Valley Conference where the who's who of the financial, media, technology world get together to unwind, network, golf and occasionally do deals.
Deal House - Every mid-July, Allen & Co turns the Sun Valley Lodge into a cool respite for studio, tech and other executives to get together and talk about their problems/issues and perhaps along the way make a deal or two but that's later. Right then, it's about escaping with your peers.
Source Sun Valley Lodge
Better known as the Summer Camp for Billionaires, they needed the break because many - WBD's Zaslav, Netflix' Sarandos, Amazon's Jassey, Disney's Iger, Meta's Zuckerberg, Google's Pichai and others - have had a tough year paring staffs (firings), tearing up/reassembling their organizations and figuring out how they can use the new tech toy unmonitored AI to their advantage.
Studio and tech executives have been under hellacious pressure from Wall Street analysts and stockholders to make positive changes that will improve their organization's free cash flow during a period of unprecedented industry transformation as the industry and world changes all around them and under their feet.
Disney's overhaul (eliminating 7,000 positions) produced cost savings of $5.5B. WBD's pockets of improvement produced similar staffing reductions and savings. Paramount reduced its staffing by 25 percent. Other networks/studios made similar improvements.
At the Allen retreat, Bob Iger - with a two-year contract extension in his pocket - said that his team had identified certain no-growth businesses and was focusing on repairing/improving the company's creative engines.
The entertainment and media industry has changed significantly since 2019 and the usual guidelines and checkpoints that studios/networks previously used don't exist today.
They're working/dealing in new/unfamiliar territories.
John Landgraf's (FX Networks' CEO) Peak TV which he coined to describe broadcast, cable pay TV continues to shrivel as original scripted programming gets replaced by unscripted game, reality and non-fiction shows that are easier/cheaper to produce for the rapidly dwindling day/date viewer base.
At the same time, network's/studio's rapid leap into the ultra-promising direct-to-consumer streaming content environment that Netflix and Amazon pioneered (along with YouTube, Hulu) back in 2007 hasn't gone as smoothly - or as rapidly as Wall Street analysts projected.
Who knew the fickle subscribers wanted/expected a steady stream of new, unique scripted movies/shows to watch when, where and how they wanted or would resort to what MediaPost's Wayne Freeman called Peak Churn - the rapid/continuous hopscotch of streaming subscription?
Buddy Talk - With a new 2-year contract extension, Disney's CEO Bob Iger (l) and Apple's CEO Tim Cook (center) enjoy a quiet discussion with Eddy Cue, Apple's SVP of Internet & services, about who knows what.
Source Bloomberg News
As a result, the new streamers have been consistently bleeding 100s of millions of dollars which has only been exacerbated by the joint strike for higher wages, benefits and more that can only impact their organizations' bottom line, further endangering their $10-50 million salaries.
Initial pain points such as increased pay, protections around the audition process, writing room size, pre-/post production TV series writing compensation, more favorable terms for pension and health contributions, on-camera rate for dancers' rehearsal days and redefinition/increases in residuals have been major issues for a large portion of the 180,000 individuals who want to make a decent living in the largely freelance industry.
Granted, it's a well-defined freelance industry but they still move from one movie/show project to another, always working to keep their work calendar filled.
During th
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
28/11/2025
Nadia Fall attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Brides at the Egyptian Theatre on January 24, 2025, in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Donyale West/...
28/11/2025
It's easy to ignore those little red update available badges. But when it ...
28/11/2025
WASHINGTON Federal Communications Commission has released a tentative agenda for the December Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, December 18, 2025 ...
28/11/2025
The Professional Fighters League is looking to super-serve fans of mixed martial...
28/11/2025
Fubo has released in beta on select Roku devices a new feature that lets users display up to four simultaneous streams at once....
28/11/2025
The WNBA playoffs and Week 4 of the NFL regular season highlight the list of live sports events airing on television this weekend....
28/11/2025
The 32nd class of honorees to the B+C Hall of Fame took to the stage at New York's Ziegfeld Ballroom on September 26 for a gala induction event. Click below...
28/11/2025
We hold in our hands the very last Next Text for Next TV, the weekly back-and-fo...
28/11/2025
DirecTV said it made a deal with EchoStar to buy EchoStar's video businesses, including satellite-TV provider Dish TV and virtual MVPD Sling TV, for $1 plus...
28/11/2025
The Broadcasting+Cable Hall of Fame, the premier industry event paying tribute to the influencers, innovators and shining lights of broadcast, cable and streami...
28/11/2025
Friday 28 November 2025
Sky Sports x Slawn drop limited-edition football jersey...
28/11/2025
Rohde & Schwarz shows resilience in a challenging environment, revenue exceeds t...
28/11/2025
Unwrapped: The Toy Show Appeal - airing this Sunday on RT One and RT Player- s...
27/11/2025
LONDON Vizrt has added several AI-driven advanced features offering improved speed, intelligence and accuracy in the newest version of its media asset managemen...
27/11/2025
Prime Video has launched AI-powered video season recaps in a beta version for select English-language Prime Original series in the U.S., a move Amazon is callin...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Netflix's Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders Marks a Grand...
27/11/2025
27 Nov 2025
GSMA brings M360 Eurasia 2026 to Samarkand in partnership with VEON...
27/11/2025
Tahar Rahim and Izuka Hoyle star in the gripping six-part Sky Original from Acad...
27/11/2025
Thursday 27 November 2025
Sky Arts Reveals the Nation's Greatest Basslines - and Queen Reign Supreme
The UK's most iconic basslines have been revealed...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Stranger Things 5': Prepare for One Last Adventure With O...
27/11/2025
The media industry has a paradox at its core. It's an industry built on light, color and imagination, yet behind the scenes, it's powered by one of the ...
27/11/2025
Rating reflects rating progress across areas including policies, diversity & inclusion, health & safety and Net Zero leadership
Winchester, UK, 27 November 202...
27/11/2025
What are the industry standards for Retail Media? Kathryn explains that certification is based on the IAB Europe Retail Media Measurement Standards and the IAB ...
27/11/2025
World champion boxer and Irish sporting icon Katie Taylor will be in studio this...
27/11/2025
Roblox, one of the world's most popular online gaming platforms for primary ...
27/11/2025
Black Friday is leveling up. Get ready to score one of the biggest deals of the season - 50% off the first three months of a new GeForce NOW Ultimate membership...
26/11/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Prime Video EP Mike Muriano Previews Massive Black Friday Slate Fe...
26/11/2025
A cinematic snow sculpture at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival. Photo by Randall Michelson...
26/11/2025
Book podcasts are booming. On Spotify, you'll find everything from celebrity book clubs to deep dives with bestselling authors. And in markets where audiobo...
26/11/2025
Mumbai, November 24, 2025: In a first-of-its-kind initiative, JioStar, in collab...
26/11/2025
LONDON Factual content producer ITN Productions has launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins....
26/11/2025
MIAMI TelevisaUnivision said it struck a new multiyear distribution agreement with YouTube TV that includes distribution of TelevisaUnivision's U.S. network...
26/11/2025
OpenDrives, Inc., a leader in software-defined data storage and data services, today announced the launch of the Atlas Corporate Creative Solution. This new Atl...
26/11/2025
Disguise, the industry-leading company powering the world's biggest live performances, is partnering with pioneering LED wall manufacturer DVS to give atten...
26/11/2025
HighField AI, the pioneer in agentic and multimodal automation for broadcast and media production, today announced the expansion of its global channel partner n...
26/11/2025
As high-stakes Premier League fixtures approach and additional premium content launches, with MONO positioning themselves to dominate Thailand's sports stre...
26/11/2025
Hosting a wide variety of events from high-intensity NHL games to complex live music concerts and major entertainment productions, Montreal's 21,000 capacit...
26/11/2025
Vizrt, the leader in live production technology revolutionizing viewer engagement and experience, releases AI-driven advances focusing on speed, intelligence, a...
26/11/2025
ITN Productions, an award-winning factual content producer, today launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins. Responsible for delivering a leading...
26/11/2025
Ikegami reports ongoing advances throughout 2025 in developing and delivering coordinated television production solutions that maximize quality, versatility and...
26/11/2025
Following the Nov. 21 blackout of NBCUniversal channels on Fubo, the two sides have traded barbs about their inability to reach a new carriage deal....
26/11/2025
LONDON As TV sports rights become increasingly important for both broadcasters and streamers, Ampere Analysis predicts global investment in the genre will surpa...
26/11/2025
LOS ANGELES Vubiquity said it has achieved the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Media & Entertainment Competency as part of the AWS Partner Network (APN). This designa...
26/11/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau said it has entered into a consent decree with Comcast calling for the cable company t...
26/11/2025
Berklee Named to the Hollywood Reporters Top Music Schools List The publication highlights the college's screen scoring program, industry partnerships, and ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
Animated Series Love Through a Prism' Casts New Light on ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
NALIP Unveils Fifth Cohort of Director Incubator
Social Impact
26 November 2025
United States
Link copied to clipboard
The National Assoc...
26/11/2025
YouView Achieves Greenly Gold Certification for SustainabilityNov 26, 2025
YouView is proud to announce a Gold Certification award from Greenly for our perform...
The shutdown has had a lot riding on it for everyone 
