USA: screenwriters call for freeze on streaming market consolidation

Posté par Isabelle Szczepanski le 31 août 2023

The Writers Guild is concerned about the apathy of US competition authorities and Congress in the face of the rise of Netflix, Disney and Amazon, and is calling for swift action to limit their market power.

The situation remains very tense between the 11500 American screenwriters of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which represents the major studios as well as the main streaming services. At stake are the basic remuneration of screenwriters and their proportional remuneration from streaming services, as well as the conditions for the use of AI, which the screenwriters wish to limit. The strike, which began on May 2, is still underway, despite the AMPTP’s proposal for a 13% pay rise, tabled at the beginning of August. The WGA felt that this offer did not provide the necessary guarantees for scriptwriters.
A danger for diversity
This strike was joined on July 14 by that of film and audiovisual performers. Against this backdrop, the Writers Guild has just published a report calling for swift legislative and administrative action to oversee the media takeover by the major platforms. The report is entitled « The New Gatekeepers: How Disney, Amazon and Netflix will take over media »….

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