No Deal Yet Between WGA & Studio CEOs; Weekend Negotiations Likely

After a rough day of negotiations Wednesday, the actors guild and the studios have pulled the plug for now.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor NBCUniversal content chief Donna Langley has vowed that the top executives involved in contract negotiations with SAG-AFTRA will devote the time it takes to reach a new deal. Langley, who is chairman of NBCUniversal Studio Group and chief content officer of NBCUniversal, declined to say much about the state of talks with the performers union during her address Wednesday evening at Bloomberg Media’s Screentime conference in Hollywood. But she did express that her executive counterparts in the negotiating room — Disney’s Bob Iger, Netflix’s Ted Sarandos and Warner Bros.

Writers have officially approved their deal with the studios.

One down, and more to come.

EXCLUSIVE: As the striking actors guild sits down today with the studio bosses for the first new talks in over 80 days, the writers are one step closer to officially ending their nearly 150-day labor dispute with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.

Back at the bargaining table Monday for the first time in more than two and a half months, SAG-AFTRA and the Hollywood studios and streamers have a long way to go to make a deal – even with the momentum gained by the end of the writers’ strike.

In the 22nd week of his Deadline podcast Strike Talk, Billy Ray sits with WGA Negotiating Committee co-chairs David Goodman and Chris Keyser to learn what happened inside the room during the negotiations and what gains were made in the deal struck Sunday with the AMPTP.

Media entrepreneur Byron Allen, one of many parties interested in acquiring ABC and other linear TV assets from Disney, said he has “access to plenty of capital,” and Disney’s internal deliberations are the next hurdle to be cleared.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor David Goodman, Chris Keyser and Meredith Stiehm have spent this year in warrior mode on behalf of their fellow 11,500 members of the Writers Guild of America. Goodman and Keyser, both past presidents of the WGA West, were co-chairs of the WGA’s 25-member negotiating committee. Stiehm was re-elected earlier this month to her second two-year term as WGA West president.

EXCLUSIVE: “This strike was way too long, because the companies took so long to get serious,” WGA West President Meredith Stiehm declared tonight of the nearly 150 days the Writers Guild was out on the picket lines before a tentative agreement was reached on September 24.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Shares of major media companies fluctuated on news that studios and streamers have reached a tentative agreement with the writers’ union on a new contract, potentially ending a strike that started in May. There are also hopes that a possible deal with the Writers Guild of America could set the stage for a similar pact with actors, who have been on the picket lines since July. The dual strikes have brought production to a standstill and could mean that several high-profile movies and shows are delayed.

After 146 days on the picket line, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) has struck a tentative deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) to end the writers’ strike.

according to Variety and other outlets. They called the new contract “exceptional” and said it would have “meaningful gains and protections for writers in every sector of the membership.”“What we have won in this contract – most particularly, everything we have gained since May 2nd – is due to the willingness of this membership to exercise its power, to demonstrate its solidarity, to walk side-by-side, to endure the pain and uncertainty of the past 146 days,” part of the email from the WGA Negotiating Committee states, Variety reported.“It is the leverage generated by your strike, in concert with the extraordinary support of our union siblings, that finally brought the companies back to the table to make a deal.”The likely deal comes as both sides took part in intensive bargaining over the weekend.There were signs last week that the strike, which brought Hollywood to a halt for 146 days, appeared to be nearing the end when the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers issued a joint statement that they were back in talks.The Alliance represents studios, streaming services and producers in the negotiations.Union leaders met Wednesday with top studio bosses including Disney CEO Robert Iger, Warner Bros.

EXCLUSIVE: The roller coaster ride of the Writers Guild and the Hollywood studios trying to seal a deal to end the writers’ nearly 5-month-long strike isn’t over yet.

Negotiations between the WGA and studios CEOs on a deal to end the nearly five-month long writers’ strike look within sight.

WGA and Hollywood’s major studios are in the final phase of hammering out a three-year contract that will bring an end to one of the longest strikes in Hollywood history. Legal representatives for labor and management were said to be huddling on the fine print of language in complicated contract issues such as the use of generative artificial intelligence and groundbreaking elements for the WGA’s minimum basic agreement, such as a formula for a minimum staff guarantee for episodic TV and a “success-based” residual from subscription platforms that is designed to funnel more money into the WGA’s pension and health funds. The nitty gritty details of the terms around the AI proposal has been one of the final hurdles to overcome, multiple sources said.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Negotiations between the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Hollywood studios continued into Friday night as questions swirled around town regarding whether a deal had been reached or if talks had once again broken down. There is no word yet on a potential deal, but insiders with knowledge of ongoings in the room say there is momentum on both sides to find a resolution that will end the 144-day writers strike. Friday’s talks are said to have begun at approximately 11 a.m.

Billy Ray, the Oscar-nominated screenwriter, director and producer who has used his downtime during the Hollywood labor strife between shifts on the picket lines to turn Strike Talk into a tour de force that has demystified the issues and explained the inflection point that made this standoff unavoidable, this week strikes his most hopeful tone in the 21 podcasts he has done so far.

The WGA is heading back to the bargaining table with the CEOs of Netflix, Disney, Universal, and Warner Bros Discovery on Friday.

EXCLUSIVE: A second day of direct negotiations between the Writers Guild and studio CEOs has concluded this evening.