Too Much TV: Your TV Talking Points For Monday, August 21st, 2023

How Are Things Going In The WGA/AMPTP Talks? Depends On Who You Talk To

Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Monday, August 21st, 2023. 

HOW ARE THINGS GOING IN THE WGA/AMPTP TALKS? IT DEPENDS ON WHO YOU TALK T
Regular readers of this newsletter will know that I have spent a lot of time over the past few months talking to people from both sides of the WGA/AMPTP strike negotiations:

The general rule of thumb for both sides in past strikes has been a press blackout, but that has always been more aspirational than factual. The studio side tends to talk a lot more to the industry trade press and they do so for a couple of complimentary reasons.

First, because media company executives (and especially CEOs) rarely talk unfettered to the press and public even when no strike is going on, having associates speak to journalists on background or off the record helps get their point of view into the public realm. And they also generally speak to trade outlets because those publications are the ones with whom they already have a trusted relationship.

In previous strikes, people on the WGA did speak to the press on background, but it was mostly to correct some perceived inaccuracy in the news coverage. Or someone on the union side would reach out to reporters if they were unhappy with the direction the negotiations were headed with the studios.

For all of the comparisons you hear to the 2008 WGA Strike, nearly every aspect of the process is different this time around. And one primary change has been the way both sides interact with the press. And to be honest, I think that's been a positive thing.

One big change on the studio side has been the consolidation of the industry press under the ownership of Penske Media. One company owning Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, TV Line and others has inevitably led to a closer business relationship between the studios of Penske Media. That closeness has offered up some easier communications between AMPTP and the Penske trades. And while some of that closeness is exaggerated by unhappy union members, it is there and a factor in how the strike has been covered.

There have also been changes on the WGA side as well. The mantra of "we don't talk to the reporters, believe only what you hear from the union" is frequently cited by union leadership and that is true as far as it goes. But it's also true that there are plenty of people on the WGA side reaching out to reporters like myself, more often than not hoping to provide some perspective on the complicated issues under negotiation right now. More than once, I've written something and almost instantly heard from someone close to the negotiations gently correcting what they feel is a mistaken take on the talks or offering up some additional insight into the process.

I certainly understand the need to keep a lot of the specific details of the negotiations out of the press. The last thing anyone needs is for the two sides to start negotiating through journalists. But the issues standing between the two sides are so complex - even to industry insiders - that providing perspective on the issues is helpful. And I think it would also make the eventual negotiated agreement easier to sell to both union members and the investors who drive the studio side of the business.

So what is my sense of how talks are going between the two sides? Honestly, that changes every time I speak with someone (and I just took a break from writing this to chat on WhatsApp with a source), my attitude changes. And before I say anything else, I'll mention that I am well aware that any or all of the people I am speaking with are attempting to spin me in some way.

But what strikes me about these conversations is that so many of these negotiations are driven by an undertone of fear. Concern that a mistake will be made that will resonate for years, or that some otherwise profitable business idea will be killed off before it can thrive.

For example, let's take the issue of AI. Even six months ago, this felt to many people like an issue that might be a concern during the next negotiations. But it's clear the technology is improving at a Skynet-like pace and that appears to be throwing a lot of angst into the negotiations. Part of the problem is that both sides are trying to come up with a framework that will protect their interests without really having a clear sense of how AI might be used in the production process a year or two from now.

"It's doable to come up with a framework that - for instance - protects writers from having to polish AI-created scripts," one WGA member who is familiar with the negotiations explained to me. "But how do we protect ourselves from uses we can't even imagine right now?"

It's a similar challenge for the studio side, with more than one person familiar with the discussions happening on the AMPTP side arguing the studios needed the flexibility to use technology cut costs, and improve workflow. "I am confident we (the studios) could use AI responsibly," one executive explained to me over the weekend. "The two-fold challenge is that not every company has an equal level of ethics when it comes to these questions," they explained. "But even if we wanted to put in guardrails to protect everyone from misuse, we can't do it right now. Because we can't even agree on how it can be used the most effectively."

That uncertainty has led some of the studio's efforts to kick the topic down the road a bit. But it's also true that option would be more palatable to the WGA if there wasn't already a track record of important issues being kicked down the road by the studios and then considered as settled issues in later contract negotiations.

The issue of writing room size is also a lot more complex than I suspect many people on both sides of the negotiations expected. The WGA has proposed some minimum staffing guarantees and other guidelines they argue would protect the future of the WGA members as well as fairly compensate often overworked showrunners and the so-called mini-room staff. AMPTP initially refused to consider the idea before suggesting in the most recent rounds of talks that rather than agreeing to contract terms that would mandate a specific side, they would agree to allow showrunners and the show's budget to guide the process.

Several AMPTP sources have said the mushiness of the proposal has been driven in part by the conflicting desires of the various members. While you might the biggest pushback about contractually imposed minimum writers' room sizes might come from the members whose companies crank out a higher number of streaming originals (ie, Netflix), other players in the streaming video world reportedly have their own concerns.

That is especially evident when one proposal was kicked around that would involve hedging the issue a bit by requiring companies to agree to a minimum writers room size on some large-ish percentage of the original productions. But as one person explained to me, while that idea seems like a good compromise at first glance, it rapidly gets complicated.

"Let's say that the proposal is hypothetically set at an 80% threshold. Now 20% of shows with a mandated writers room size seems doable. But not if you're Paramount, whose streaming service has to figure in the Taylor Sheridan desire to crank out scores of shows, without relying on traditional writers rooms. Or Disney, whose primary streaming service (Disney+) has experimented with essentially having a director serve as showrunner. I've heard they would like to play around with some other variations of this and while a 20 percent cap sounds fine now, is it going to work two or three years out?" The goal, the source explained to me, was to allow studios as much flexibility as they get.

And some issues remain very black-and-white matters for both sides. WGA negotiators are reportedly firm in their desire to win their members the right to respect other union picket lines. "We've had all sorts of unions show their support during our strike," one WGA member explained to me. "We can't, we won't leave them hanging just to make our deal happen a little quicker."

While the studio side is immediately focused on the difficult prospect of the WGA negotiating an updated minimum bargain agreement that allows them to stay out until AMPTP negotiates a new deal with SAG-AFTRA, the bigger fear is this would open up an endless series of work stoppages as various unions cycled through their respective negotiations. Bolstered by the knowledge writers would honor their picket lines.

"This is not something the DGA obtained and that should then put the subject to rest for the other two unions," one highly-placed studio source told me recently. "This would shift leverage during a strike in a direction that I don't believe is healthy for the industry."

Ironically, the issues that are purely money-driven are likely going to be the easiest to resolve. "Both sides are accustomed to the percentage dance," one WGA source explained. "We propose six percent on an issue, they counter with three or four and we end up somewhere in the middle. If there are two things the studios understand are money and penny-pinching the help. So this is a language they understand."

None of this precisely answers the answer posed in the headline: "How Are Things Going In The WGA/AMPTP Talks?"

Right now, all I can do is provide the same answer I received when I asked the same question of someone on the studio side over the weekend.

"How is it going? Well, it's going."

Have any thoughts on the negotiations or insight you want to share confidentially? Email me at rick@allyourscreens.com

WHAT'S NEW TODAY AND TOMORROW:

MONDAY, AUGUST 21ST, 2023:
Secrets Of Prince Andrew (A&E)

TUESDAY, AUGUST 22ND, 2023:
Above Suspicion Series Premiere (BritBox)
Bobby's Triple Threat Season Premiere (Food)
Crimes Gone Viral Season Premiere (Investigation Discovery)
Lighthouse (Netflix)
Star Wars: Ahsoka Series Premiere (Disney+)
The Murder Tapes Season Premiere (Investigation Discovery)

Click Here to see the list of all of the upcoming premiere dates for the next few months.

SEE YOU TUESDAY!

If you have any feedback, send it along to Rick@AllYourScreens.com and follow me on Twitter @aysrick.