NEW YORK: Hollywood studios made a fresh offer to striking screenwriters that includes concessions on issues such as the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and access to viewer data, it was reported while citing people familiar with the discussions.
Reportedly, the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers has committed to ensuring that human writers are credited for their work on screenplays rather than being replaced by AI. Furthermore, the studios are willing to share information about the viewership hours on streaming platforms.
The offer encompasses additional provisions, including an increase of over 20% in residual payments for writers when their productions are aired on networks other than the one they were initially created for.
Netflix’s Co-Chief Executive Officer Ted Sarandos, and Walt Disney CoCEO Bob Iger, have both taken proactive roles in negotiations, with the report noting their efforts to reach an agreement with the striking writers.
In a positive sign of progress in the ongoing strike, the union representing the Hollywood writers acknowledged receiving a counterproposal from the studios, indicating that talks are advancing after over 100 days of the strike.
The strike commenced on May 2 among Hollywood writers following unsuccessful discussions between the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and major studios.
The main points of contention included minimum staffing of writers’ rooms, compensation and residual payments in the context of the streaming era.
