Too Much TV: Your TV Talking Points For Tuesday, September 5th, 2023

Do streaming services really not pay any residuals? Well.....

Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Tuesday, September 5th, 2023. 

CBS GETS SOME NEW 'NCIS'
When CBS announced its abbreviated fall schedule in mid-July, there was an open spot on Monday nights that was filled with reruns of NCIS. At the time, I speculated that the slot would be filed with the new series NCIS: Sydney, which had been originally ordered as a Paramount+ original.

And indeed, the show is now set to premiere on CBS beginning Monday, November 13th and will stream the following day on Paramount+. It's as close to a no-brainer decision as you'll find on broadcast TV right now.

CBS has experimented with airing an episode or two of shows originally produced for streaming, but I believe this is the first time it will shift the entire season of a streaming original over to the broadcast side. 

This seems like an idea that we'll see more in the future, even after the current strikes are resolved. Although we're not likely to see it too much with CBS/Paramount, since the non-Star Trek original series slate at Paramount+ is somewhat limited when you get past the Taylor Sheridan shows.

DON'T BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU READ ABOUT RESIDUALS
I want to be clear about this upfront. I think the compensation for creatives when it comes to "new media" (or streaming, for civilians) is not sustainable and that it is going to have to be solved before the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes can end.

I also think that hearing from writers and actors about their financial struggles is important. There are so many ways in which the studio's nickel-and-dime creatives and their staffs and that aggressive cheapness is part of the reason why so many people in the television industry are angry about their situation.

But I have read a series of interviews in recent days from the trades, which fall into the general category of "I didn't make one penny on my show from streaming." The details are often slightly different, but they generally track with what Supernatural creator told Deadline about his experience when the show streamed on Netflix:

The residuals I get are from its airing on TNT, which you know, it gets a couple hundred thousand views. The Netflix streaming of Supernatural is consistently in the Top 10 for billions of minutes streamed. Part of that is because there’s so many episodes, but still, if you just go by how many people are spending minutes watching that show, it blows away Squid Game and blows away things that are massive hits, and I’ve gotten a total of zero residuals for that. No one should cry for me. I’m doing great. I’m not asking for any sympathy for that. I’m just pointing out the inequity. Then when you think of all the writers on my staff, who really could use that money, are in between jobs or something, that’s significant. The fact that [streamers] can just live in this sort of new media disruptor black box and not pay what other networks are paying doesn’t seem fair.

Actor Aaron Paul told a similar story to Entertainment Tonight Canada when he was asked how much money he made when episodes of Breaking Bad streamed on Netflix:

"I don’t get a piece from Netflix on Breaking Bad, if we’re being totally honest, and that’s insane to me. Shows live forever on these streamers, and it goes through waves. I just saw the other day that Breaking Bad was trending on Netflix. I think a lot of these streamers, they know that they have been getting away with not paying people a fair wage, and now it’s time to pony up. And that’s just one of the things that we’re fighting for.”

Now I believe people when they say "I didn't get any money from streaming." And it's true, the money involved is small, particularly when compared to linear television residuals. But they should be getting *something.* The current WGA and SAG-AFTRA contracts mandate that, although I can tell you from personal experience trying to figure out all of the permutations can give you a massive headache.

This makes me wonder if sometimes when a writer or actor says "I didn't get anything," they really mean "I received an amount that was so small it felt like it was nothing."

Because they should have received something. However, it's also important to note that in both of the cases above - which involved linear TV shows that were licensed to Netflix - the money would come from the studio that licensed it to the streamer. Specifically, the current basic agreements set the payments as a small percentage of the licensing fee.

But the situation can get complicated really quickly when you’re talking about shows created for SVODs. For instance, check out this helpful guide from the WGA, which provides some figures for residuals for high-budget subscription on-demand shows. There is a lot to wade through and while it doesn't compare to linear TV residuals, it is something.

For actors, the residuals base is tied to salaries ("Total Applicable Compensation"), subject to a ceiling per performer, and then the residual pool is divvied up among the cast pro-rated, so higher earners get a bigger share. The SAG agreements also permit the producer to credit 10% of an actor's salary [above a specified floor] against residuals payments.

And to complicate matters more, the payments are much less if the show runs on a SVOD platform with less than 20 million subscribers, and in those cases producers may credit amounts in excess of 65% of the minimum, but not to exceed the minimum, against any other compensation otherwise due to a series or term contract performer (e.g., overtime, penalties, and residuals, regardless of whether the threshold for advance payment of residuals has been met).

There are rates when a show is streamed on a platform globally and shows created before either the 2014 or 2017 MBAs don’t receive the newer, higher rates won in those negotiations.

As I said, it’s complicated and I am sure that I likely glossed over something in this explanation.

All of this is to say that writers and actors should be receiving at least some small amount for streaming. It's clear they don't believe that's the case and I still haven't been able to get a clear explanation of what is going on.

STARZ REALLY DOESN'T WANT ME TO CANCEL MY SUBSCRIPTON
You might think that TV critics don't have to pay for streaming services and that we receive free press accounts since we are covering the services on a regular basis. And while that is true in some cases, my experience is the that the larger the streaming service, the more likely I will have to pay for it out of my own pocket. And because that involves a fair number of services every month, I try to take advantage of every discount I can.

I signed up (again) for a deal for Starz which gave me six months of the service for $20. That deal is just about up and the newly increased price will run around $45 for six months. So I decided to cancel and look for a better deal. And Starz really tried to talk me out of with five separate "before you go" screens, each offering up some new reason to stay:

Spoiler alert: I unsubscribed anyway.

ODDS AND SODS
* Every once in a while I’m surprised to encounter a Columbo fan who doubts the existence of Mrs. Columbo. I’m here to scotch those rumors for good.

* If you were reading the trades today, you probably read stories about how much money the strike is costing Warner Bros. Discovery. For whatever reason, the articles neglected to point out that the strikes have also increased the free cash flow for WBD. And thanks to a change in March that ties bonus payments to free cash flow, that means that WBD CEO and some top executives will likely receive a bigger bonus thanks to the Hollywood strikes.

TWEET OF THE DAY

WHAT'S NEW TODAY AND TOMORROW:

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5TH, 2023:
Deep Water Salvage Showdown Season Finale (Weather)
Inside The NFL Season Premiere (The CW)
Shane Gillis: Beautiful Dogs (Netflix)

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6TH, 2023:
Crime Scene Confidential Season Two Premiere (Investigation Discovery)
Infamy Series Premiere (Netflix)
Nightwatch Season Seven Premiere (A&E)
Predators (Netflix)
Reporting For Duty Series Premiere (Netflix)
Scout's Honor: The Secret Files Of The Boy Scouts Of America (Netflix)
6ixtynin9 The Series (Netflix)
Tahir's House Series Premiere (Netflix)
The Afterparty Season Two Finale (Apple TV+) 
The Little Mermaid (Disney+)
The Real Housewives Of Salt Lake City Season Premiere (Bravo)

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

SEE YOU WEDNESDAY!

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