After many months of difficult negotiations between the guilds on the one side and studios and streamers on the other, the film and television industry can finally get back to business as the SAG-AFTRA strike reaches a tentative agreement. From this new deal, and the WGA separate deal, contracts should see meaningful gains and protections as well as better compensation across various key areas that matter to the talent, whether it relates to streaming programming, artificial intelligence or other conditions and financial terms.

Studios and streamers hope to quickly resume production to meet their (updated) release dates for their motion pictures and television programs slated for 2024 and 2025. However, while such efforts will resume, it will take time to get production up and running, possibly through the first quarter of next year.

Through this process, many people in the entertainment industry continue to suffer and need help. As mentioned by Bob Beitcher of the Motion Picture and Television Fund (MPTF) on a recent GHJ Media Clips Podcast, many crew members are losing health coverage, facing food insecurity and struggling to pay their bills as a result of work stoppages caused by the industry strikes. While the strikes may be coming to a close, with productions not ramping up till the new year, many individuals may continue to depend on the support of organizations such as MPTF.

Also, there is a question as to the future overall health of the industry and the strikes’ effect on what and how many programs are being produced, as discussed on other recent podcasts and articles published by GHJ. GHJ’s Profit Participation Services Practice even released a report on an alternative profit-sharing model with recommendation on how to support all parties in this new streaming-focused environment.

If you have any questions about how the new deals reached by both SAG AFTRA and the Writers Guild of America could impact your business, please reach out to GHJ’s Entertainment and Media Practice.