Too Much TV: A Brief Update

It's been one of those weeks...

It is not your imagination, you did not receive a newsletter Tuesday night.

To provide a little peek behind the curtain here at TooMuchTV world headquarters, I have been working a lot of extra hours during the strike. Late nights and every weekend recently. Last night, it caught up with me. I was messaging with sources, trying to get some more insight into what is happening behind the scenes. And at some point, I feel asleep in front of my laptop.

So here is a late and brief early morning update. And you’ll receive a full newsletter later this evening.

The short answer is that I think we are getting closer to a decision from the SAG-AFTRA side. But it has by all accounts been a difficult process. As is often the case during a long strike, nerves are shot and people are at different points in the process. Some individuals are feeling a lot of financial pressure and have come to terms with what they accomplished during the strike. They just want to get back to work.

And for others, their calculation is that the strike has already been so painful that settling before getting most of what they wanted feels like a surrender. This turmoil leads to confrontations, a lot of arguing and the occasional leak to the press.

All of this is playing out behind-the-scenes on the union side and that is to be expected. More internal talks are expected today and we’ll see what happens. Most people I’ve spoke with expect a decision soon. Although it’s fair to say no one is entirely sure where things are headed. And how many members might vote “Yes” and ratify whatever deal the national board approves.

More than one person on the union side has described the situation to me as “uncharted territory” and that seems to be an accurate assessment.

As for the studio side, I’ve been writing for days that several of the studios with earnings calls this week really were hoping to have good news to report to investors.

Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav said in his earning call this morning that he is hopeful a resolution to the strike is coming soon:

”We are hopeful we will reach a resolution to the SAG-AFTRA strike soon. We made a last and final offer, which met virtually all of the union’s goals and includes the highest wage increase in 40 years and believe it provides for a positive outcome for all involved. We recognize that we need our creative partners to feel valued and rewarded and look forward to both sides getting back to the business of telling great stories. As the strikes underscore, these are challenging times our industry is facing accelerated disruption in a rapidly changing marketplace. And to succeed long term, we must be flexible and adaptable and have a strong arsenal of assets that will enable us to maintain momentum amidst ever evolving consumer behavior.”

That “flexible and adaptable” phrase is important, because that is one of the phrases the studio side has regularly used during negotiations with both the WGA and SAG-AFTRA. The use of AI isn’t so much a financial decision as it a way for the companies to be flexible and adaptable in the face of industry challenges.

It’s worth noting that the studios have had their own arguments behind-the-scenes. They struggled to come to consensus on AI and compensation and even know I hear talk at least one company remains unhappy enough that they have threatened to not sign the final deal. A scenario which played out in recent WGA talks.

Uncharted territory indeed….

More this evening or sooner if there is the announcement of a tentative agreement.