The 10,000-member Writers Guild of America has reached a tentative three-year agreement with the organizations representing major Hollywood studios, averting a shutdown that seemed unavoidable just weeks ago, according to the LA Times.
The new contract reportedly removes earnings caps for writers and increases minimum wage and residual payments, key issues given the shift in viewership habits in recent years. Writers were particularly hard hit by the lack of accommodation for streaming and on-demand services in the previous contract.
The threatened walk-out would’ve hit television viewing audiences particularly hard during the COVID pandemic, when live entertainment such as sports, theatre and concerts are virtually nonexistent; the one exception being professional wrestling, which was dubbed an “essential service” by the governor of Florida.
The last time the Guild staged a walk-out was in 2007-08, when the issue was residuals for DVD sales. Television networks saw a significant drop in advertising revenue when they were forced to air reruns of most shows.