After four long months of picketing and negotiating, it looks like the writers’ strike could finally end later on Thursday.
The Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers are near an agreement to end the strike after meeting face-to-face on Wednesday, according to CNBC. The two sides met could finalize a deal as early as Thursday.
After face to face meeting today, writers and producers near agreement to end WGA strike. Met today and hope to finalize deal tomorrow, according to people close to the negotiations, who, while optimistic, warn that without deal tomorrow strike likely continues through year end.
— David Faber (@davidfaber) September 21, 2023
On Wednesday evening, the WGA and the AMPTP released a joint statement that the two groups met for bargaining and would negotiate again on Thursday. The sides are set to reconvene at 9 a.m. PT on Thursday.
WGA members have been on strike for more than 100 days — with actors joining them in July — leaving dozens of TV shows and movies at a standstill.
The writers’ strike was sparked by a number of grievances, including:
- Pay: Writers have argued that their compensation doesn’t match the revenue that’s been generated during the streaming era.
- Job security: The WGA has been pushing for new rules that would require studios to staff TV shows with a certain number of writers for a certain period. Additionally, writers want protections in place against studios using AI technology to replace writers.
- Compensation for preproduction, production, and postproduction: As of now, writers are often expected to provide revisions or come up with new material without being paid.
The strikes have weighed on media companies as they have attempted to grapple with making streaming profitable and getting people back in theaters post-pandemic.
Warner Bros. Discovery — the owner of a TV and film studio, as well as the largest portfolio of pay TV networks — warned investors of the effects of the strikes earlier this month when it adjusted its earnings expectations. The company said it now expects that it will take a hit of $300 million to $500 million before the strike is over.
At a conference earlier this month, Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav called for an end to the writers and actors strikes.
“We need to do everything we can to get people back to work,” Zaslav said. “We really have to focus as an industry, and we are, on trying to get this resolved in a way that’s really fair.”
