SAG-AFTRA reached a tentative deal with the AMPTP on Wednesday after a grueling round of last-minute negotiations. The agreement comes after its guild members striked for 118 days. Details of the new contract have not been released, but SAG’s negotiating committee said in a statement that the deal is valued at more than $1 billion and includes major pay increases, a streaming participation bonus, and AI protections.
More details will be released on Friday after the national SAG-AFTRA board votes on the deal, says Matt Belloni, founding partner of the website Puck News and a regular contributor to KCRW’s The Business.
So far, he says it’s clear that the guild was able to secure a larger wage increase in comparison to the WGA and DGA, likely between 5% and 11%. Similar to the writers, SAG also won a residuals bonus for streaming hits.
Why did it take so long to get here? Belloni says the studios ultimately dug their heels in on key issues, including sharing revenue and AI. However, in conversation with SAG-AFTRA’s chief negotiator, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, Belloni says the guild sees the strike as worth it.
“These things are really complicated, and this was not just about money. Typically, money disputes can be resolved quicker. But this was about some more fundamental issues of being an actor and what rights you get in your likeness and your image with new technology emerging.”
Belloni says productions will likely restart as soon as possible now that the strike is over. First up are likely broadcast network shows looking to return during the mid-season and films that need reshoots.
“Slowly, new productions will start because, remember, there's now a logjam of six months of productions that are all going after the same crews, the same actors, same sets, the same shooting locations,” Belloni says. “It's going to be a really logistical nightmare to try to figure this stuff out, and it's going to be a fight for a number of these productions. The actors can't be everywhere at once.”