SAG-AFTRA and Alliance Of Motion Picture And Television Producers (AMPTP) continued talks through the weekend, raising hopes that a deal on a new three-year contract may be getting close.
The actors union has been on strike for 108 days now and have been reviewing the most recent counter-offer from the Hollywood companies for enhanced bonuses tied to the most-watched streaming shows, as well as increased minimum rates.
According to a report on Deadline Hollywood which Screen has not verified, AMPTP proposed a 7% increase in minimums last week and the union countered with 9%, down from its initial 11% proposal.
Saturday’s Zoom meeting – which reportedly did not include Hollywood CEOs Donna Langley (NBCUniversal), Ted Sarandos (Netflix), David Zaslav (Warner Bros Discovery) and Bob Iger (Disney) – and the Sunday follow-up come as the Hollywood companies have raised concerns to union negotiators over the production halt on their feature and TV pipelines.
SAG-AFTRA is holding out for what it regards as a robust deal. Its proposal for a share of total streaming revenue has been rejected by AMPTP, while it also proposed a payment of less than 57 cents per subscriber each year.
The studios described the proposal as a levy and said the measure would cost its members more than $800m annually, which SAG-AFTRA said was inflated. One report has estimated the cost to the studios and streamers be closer to $500m a year.
SAG-AFTRA top negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland rubbished the “levy” label, telling Screen recently: “Compensating workers for their work is not a tax, it’s not a levy; it’s what responsible employers do. And so when we negotiate for fair compensation for our members nothing about that is a levy.”
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