Too Much TV: Your TV Talking Points For Monday, August 14th, 2023
Some movement on the WGA/AMPTP negotiations. Maybe. Perhaps.
Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Monday, August 14th, 2023.
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SOME MOVEMENT ON THE WGA STRIKE NEGOTATIONS. MAYBE. POSSIBLY.
Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw and Thomas Buckley are reporting that the new AMPTP proposal given to the WGA on Friday included several substantive changes to previous offers. Including some data transparency and minimum duration for writing rooms, which were both proposals the studios had refused to discuss until now.
According to the story, the offer included a proposal to share data on the number of hours viewed on various streaming services. Other proposals included a 20 percent plus increase made to writers when their shows appear on networks other than the original one they were produced for. The studios also offered a minimum duration of work for writers in "mini-rooms," as well as a boost in pay. The AMPTP offer also included a 5% bump in base pay for WGA members, which splits the difference between the previous offer 4% offer from the studios and the 6% requested by WGA negotiators.
I have no idea who the sources were for the Bloomberg story, although given some of the talks I've had with people close to the discussions, someone from Iger's camp is a reasonable guess.
I will say that the Bloomberg story generally tracks with what I had heard from sources following Friday's meeting and throughout the weekend. But I still have many questions about the conflicting explanations I've heard recounting the terms of the offer. As I mentioned in Friday's newsletter, the trade-off of attention I'd get for writing a piece was balanced by the likelihood I could get some key part wrong.
I've spoken with multiple people from both sides who are close to the negotiations and aware of the details of the various offers. And there are core parts of this latest AMPTP offer that my sources can't agree on enough for me to confidently stating "this was the offer."
For instance, does the residual bump for shows appearing on "other networks" include AVOD services? And how will AVOD residuals be handled in general?
Reading the Bloomberg piece and reflecting on talks I had with sources, I was also struck by how similar the proposal was to one laid out in a few weeks ago in a piece I wrote about an iternal Netflix proposal for the WGA.A lot of the terms are in the same ballpark and this current AMPTP proposal certainly seems designed to help Netflix a lot more than some of its competitors.
Here are the core points from that earlier idea from a Netflix executive:
* Netflix would propose to shift the production cycle for most shows in a way that would make it easier to keep writers tied to production. In part, that would involve ordering some shows based on a pilot script and outlines, allowing the writers to break the episodes during the production process. The minimum guaranteed size of the room would remain small (4 instead of the six proposed by the WGA), but those production changes, along with tweaks on span and other related items might provide enough for writers to accept without substantially impacting the bottom line.
* There wouldn't be much of a change in transparency on viewing numbers and other internal metrics used in determining content value. But there would be a formula that would provide performance-based bonuses for projects that reached certain goalposts, including Netflix Top Ten Lists, Nielsen rankings and some other third-party data. It's not residuals, but it would at least provide some financial incentives for performance that would be a solid interim step. And it's notably a similar approach to the one reportedly proposed by SAG-AFTRA, which would pay performance-based residuals out of an agreed-upon pool of funds.
* Changes to AVOD payments and residuals that would not only provide a pay increase for union members, but make it less lucrative for streamers to move low-performing projects to AVOD. The proposal notes that while it would be a substantial cost to Netflix, the changes would fall hardest on Prime Video and Warner Bros. Discovery, both of whom have been aggressively moving original productions from SVOD to AVOD. That factor was seen as a net plus.
Regardless of the exact parameters, while the AMPTP offer does show movement, it only moves the discussion forward a bit. One notable sticking point will no doubt be the studio's reluctance to mandate a minimum writing room size, suggesting it be left up to the discretion of the showrunners. But I have had several showrunners tell me that Netflix has "suggested" a smaller than industry norm writers room size. So this specific idea is likely dead on arrival from the WGA side.
One last note. I continue to see WGA board members and other senior WGA members reminding their fellow writers that the WGA "doesn't leak" during negotiations. And as I mentioned in Friday's newsletter, the truth is that while the main WGA negotiating team members aren't talking to the press (at least that I know of), there are other people familiar with talks that have regularly been reaching out to some journalists, myself included.
So it's fine to be skeptical of any strike reporting. But also keep in mind that even the most slanted take on the negotiations likely contain some kernels of truth.
AVOD SERVICES HAVE A LOT OF POSITIVES. CATALOG TRANSPARENCY IS NOT ONE OF THEM.
If subscription-based streaming video services have one thing in common with ad-supported services, is that none of them appear to enjoy talking about TV shows or movies that are set to leave their respective service. In the early days of SVODs, services such as Netflix wouldn't even acknowledge titles were set to expire. And while they do offer up a few titles now, it's not a comprehensive list. And rivals such as Max take a similar passive-aggressive approach to the topic.
But catalog transparency amongst AVODs is basically non-existent. At least when it comes to their on-demand titles. Services such as Pluto or Tubi will send out press releases touting new FAST channels, but it's rare that even acknowledge titles are being added to their on-demand libraries. And they certainly won't discuss when titles are set to leave.
And that's a missed opportunity for user engagement. There are plenty of people who would like to know when some favorite (or potentially favorite) titles are being added to the service. And just as importantly, the exact date of when their leaving. As opposed to the current system, which involves TV and movie fans posting something on social media along the lines of "Hey, guess what I just found on Pluto TV!"
If you work at one of the services and aren't sure what into users are looking for, please contact me. I would like more info and I can guarantee I can make sure it is spread to users who are most interested.
SPEAKING OF AVOD CATALOG SURPRISES
If you are a fan of obscure classic television, then Crackle has been a favorite service in recent years. They had a catalog of titles that were unavailable anywhere else. And while the UI left a lot to be desired, it was a treat for hardcore TV and movie fans.
But as I wrote today, Crackle's TV library has taken a massive hit, losing dozens of titles unexpectedly.
Read here for the details and for a list of the massive loss for TV fans.
THE PRODUCERS GUILD SUPPORTS THE WGA/SAG-AFTRA STRIKES
ICYMI: ALLYOURSCREENS
Here's a recap of some of the other stories that were posted over the weekend and earlier today on AllYourScreens.com:
* Here are 13 TV shows that deserved to last more than one season. And it includes none of the predictable choices.
* It's a rundown of all of this weeks True Crime TV episodes.
* In Friday's newsletter, I recounted my current problems with Hulu Live TV. It did not get any better this weekend.
TWEET OF THE DAY
ODDS AND SODS
*How did Netflix know I was Bi before I did?
* TLC has ordered a second season of Match Me Abroad.
* One of my favorite lean-back TV shows is Escape To The Country, a UK show which highlights homebuyers looking to move from the big city to more rural parts of the country. Amazingly, there hasn't been an equivalent TV series here in the U.S. But if some network wanted to give it a try, one place to start might be with the Tik Tok star who has convinced hundreds of people to move to Peoria, Illinois.
* Comcast is giving new Xfinity Internet and TV customers and existing Xfinity Internet customers adding TV $200 off NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube TV.
WHAT'S NEW TODAY AND TOMORROW:
MONDAY, AUGUST 14TH, 2023:
Crime Scene Kitchen Season Finale (Fox)
90 Day: The Last Resort Season Premiere (TLC)
Solar Opposites Season Four Premiere (Hulu)
TUESDAY, AUGUST 15TH, 2023:
Boss Moves With Rasheeda Frost Season Two Premiere (Philo)
Eye Of The Storm (Yi qi) (Netflix)
Good Bones Season Premiere (HGTV)
Jared Freid: 37 And Single (Netflix)
Reinventing Elvis: The '68 Comeback (Paramount+)
Scent Of Time (Max)
The Love Experiment Series Premiere (MTV)
What's Wrong With That House? Series Premiere (HGTV)
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.