Here’s how the Writers Guild of America strike will impact the television industry.
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00:00More than 11,000 Hollywood writers are officially on strike, so we need to talk about how this will
00:04impact the television industry. The Unionized Screenwriters, part of the Writers Guild of
00:09America, initiated the strike after the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers failed
00:13to provide them with an adequate deal during ongoing contract negotiations. WGA members are
00:18seeking higher minimum pay, less thinly staffed writing rooms, shorter exclusive contracts,
00:22and a reworking of residual pay, all of which are conditions that have been diminished amid the rise
00:26of streaming, according to the Guild. Streaming has increased the number of series and films made,
00:30meaning more jobs for writers, but they're making much less money and working under more
00:34strained conditions. Scripted series and films will take longer to be affected,
00:37but late-night talk shows and soap operas will be the first impacted. The last WGA strike was
00:42in 2007 and lasted 100 days, prompting studios to turn to more reality TV and other unscripted
00:47shows. Late-night hosts eventually returned to the air by improvising material and writing their
00:51own monologues, a move that angered union leadership. The AMPTP says it is willing to
00:56improve on its offer, but it will not meet all of the union's demands.