Writers’ earnings fell by $600 million during the 2023 strike, Union says

Revenues for TV and film writers fell by $603 million, or about 32%, last year as the end of “Peak TV” coincided with a 148-day strike by the Writers of Guild of America.

Writers’ incomes, reported for contribution purposes, fell to $1.29 billion in 2023. Adjusted for inflation, that is the lowest level since the 2007-2008 writers’ strike.

Employment also fell by 19.5%, to 5,501 working writers, the lowest number since 2014.

In the first “double strike” since 1960, the WGA and SAG-AFTRA halted most script production for six months, seeking higher wages and protection from artificial intelligence. At the same time, the TV business shrank by 14%, from 600 shows in 2022 to 516 in 2023.

The Writers Guild of America West releases employment data as part of its annual report, sent to members Friday.

In the report, the union said the steep declines “reflected both the contraction of the sector and the companies’ refusal to negotiate a fair deal, which resulted in a five-month strike that ended once the companies agreed to solve the problems under to tackle the members.”

“During this turbulent period, writers in all areas reported declines in employment and income,” the union said.

After the previous strike, which lasted 100 days, the guild reported a 15% drop in total revenues for 2008. The dramatic 32% drop for 2023 is likely to be revised next year and show a slightly smaller drop, due to a delay in reporting contributions. .

The report also found that employment among writers reached a record high just before the strike, with 6,835 writers reporting income in 2022 – 80% more than three decades ago.

In nominal terms, writer revenues reached a record $1.89 billion in 2022. (Adjusted for inflation, the peak was in 2019.)

In addition to their regular income, writers received $598.5 million in residuals in 2023, a 3.5% gain from 2022.

While the writers stood on the picket lines for five months, the residuals made up a larger share of their total income than normal. Residuals are typically 21-24% of total writer compensation, but in 2023 it was 32%.

The remaining data reflects a rapid shift to streaming. Streaming platforms represented a majority of all residual flows for the first time in 2022 and again in 2023.

More than 80% of streaming residuals come from movies and TV shows originally made for theater, broadcast, or cable. But residuals on made-for-streaming shows are rising rapidly, reaching $57.4 million in 2023, a 46% gain. The WGA said the increase was due to both the higher volume of projects and improved streaming terms under the 2020 contract.

In inflation-adjusted figures, residuals peaked in 2022. That year, Netflix paid $62.5 million as a result of an arbitration case over residuals in the film “Bird Box.”

The WGA did not issue an employment report in 2023, citing the strike. The report published Friday covered two years of data. For TV writers, the figures do not include ‘excessive’ income, for which no contributions are due.

During the strike, the WGA West provided hardship loans to its members from the strike fund and the Good & Welfare Fund. The annual report shows that members owed $6.2 million in these funds as of March 31.

The WGA strike resulted in scale wage increases of 5%, 4% and 3.5% over the three-year term of the contract, as well as script fees for TV writers, full pension and health contributions for writing teams, and a guaranteed second draft for feature film writers.

The Union estimated the value of the deal is $233 million for each year of the contract, or $147 million more per year than the studios’ final pre-strike offer.

The deal also includes a minimum staff size for TV shows not written by a solo writer, and a measure to prevent AI-written material from reducing the writer’s salary or credit. The union also won a 50% residual bonus for the most-watched TV shows made for streaming.

Film licensing data shows the industry had already begun to shrink before unions went on strike last year. The post-strike recovery has been slow as reality TV production has collapsed and script production has fallen below pre-strike levels.