Dear Members:
The Writers Guild of America has now been on strike for two weeks because the AMPTP refuses to negotiate a fair deal to address the existential crisis writers are facing.
The WGA estimates the proposals on the table at contract expiration on May 1 would cost the industry collectively $429 million per year, approximately $343 million of which is attributable to eight of our largest employers.
For perspective, tens of billions are spent on the programming writers create, $19 billion alone on original content for streaming services this year. And the cost of these proposed improvements is modest compared to industry revenues and profits, but are essential to writers whose pay and working conditions have eroded over the past decade.
What would the cost of our contract proposals currently on the table look like on a company-by-company basis? Take a look:
| Company | Annual Cost | Annual Revenues | Cost % of Revenues |
|---|---|---|---|
| Disney | $75 mn | $82.7 bn | 0.091% |
| Netflix | $68 mn | $31.6 bn | 0.214% |
| Warner Bros. Discovery | $47 mn | $43.1 bn* | 0.108% |
| Paramount Global | $45 mn | $30.2 bn | 0.148% |
| NBC Universal | $34 mn | $121.4 bn | 0.028% |
| Amazon | $32 mn | $514.0 bn | 0.006% |
| Sony | $25 mn | $88.8 bn | 0.028% |
| Apple | $17 mn | $394.3 bn | 0.004% |
| Total Cost: $343 mn | |||
These companies have made billions in profit off writers’ work, and they tell their investors every quarter about the importance of scripted content. Yet they are risking significant continued disruption in the coming weeks and months that would far outweigh the costs of settling.
In Solidarity,
WGA Negotiating Committee