The WGA has called out big Hollywood studios, including Disney, labeling them the “new gatekeepers” of the current media landscape.
The WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike has been one of the most significant events in the history of Hollywood. The WGA strike has been going on for over 110 days with no sign of a resolution anytime soon; it might even meet and surpass the record for the longest Hollywood strike. (That record was previously held by the Writer’s Guild of America in 1960, which lasted 148 days.)
Last week, the WGA submitted a report that called Netflix, Amazon, and Disney the “new gatekeepers” of media and called for antitrust regulators to set in place systems that “prevent consolidation in the streaming marketplace.”
The report asserts that through acquisitions, Disney, Amazon Studios, and Netflix are becoming monopolies within the market and are “using their increased power to disadvantage competitors, raise prices for consumers, and to push down wages for creative workers.”
The report also argues that the creativity and choice that should have arisen out of the streaming service era have been stamped down by the mergers and acquisitions of these companies (think like Disney of 20th Century Fox) and that the companies will “abuse a position of dominance” to keep their competitors out.
Related: After Iger’s Comments, Is Writer’s Strike About to End?
The report specifically calls the Walt Disney Company out for the following:
Disney has grown through a series of multibillion-dollar acquisitions, using its power to reduce film output, shut down competing studios, foreclose independent content from its distribution networks, expand control of the labor market, and force creators to give up financial participation in future licensing revenue.
What are the Writer’s Strike Demands for 2023?
While many are hoping for a resolution of both the WGA and the SAG-AFTRA strike, it doesn’t seem imminent from the current relationship between both parties. Recently, the AMPTP (the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers) proposed new contracts that did not match the WGA’s requests.
The WGA is calling for protections against being replaced by AI (Artificial Intelligence), a minimum staffing level for TV Writers’ rooms, and weekly pay for TV writers. The union is also calling for increased residuals, appropriate TV series-writing compensation from pre-production to postproduction, as well as increased contributions to pension and health plans, among more.
How Long Will the Writer’s Strike Last in 2023?
It is unclear at the moment how long the writer’s strike will last. Negotiations are continuing as the WGA is not content with the contracts put forth by the AMPTP, and the union is set to meet with the organization again next week.
