https://www.latimes.com/entertainme...rs-gather-to-weigh-issues-what-are-they-after So May 1 is when the writers collective agreement ends. Apparently the union has some issues that will need to be ironed out with the studios. It all basically boils down to more money for the writers. After reading the article, they do have substantial reasons, basically its gone from "Hollywood Math" To "Streamer Math" the streamers never release any of there information on viewership, etc. so many writers ( and others) don't have any idea on if a show there working on is doing any good. anybody that is/was in the bussiness want to chime in on what to expect? Hope they work out an agreement.
Hope this is sorted out, recall it ruining several shows and movies last time because of long delays, or having to run with a script from pre-lockout that they couldn't change, etc. Cancelling things that would have likely otherwise survived, losing actors with contract issues...
The article fails to mention one of the biggest problematic trends: studios hoarding their own content onto studio-owned streaming services rather than selling that content on the open market. This practice turns residual calculations into just another black hole of Hollywood accounting. It also apparently results in HBO Max coming to the conclusion that it is sometimes financially a good idea to pull a show entirely from streaming services rather than pay royalties. I can't imagine that happening if there were an open bidding process between streaming services (as the residuals just would have been a cut of whatever was paid out by the streaming service). [Of course, I still don't know why shows were also pulled from being purchased digitally. One would think that would have nothing to do with avoiding royalty payments.]
I expect this strike, if it occurs, will lead to an abundance of retreads, reboots, prequels, sequels, ripoffs and spinoffs which will make last year's offerings look like.....next year's.
That's true, and one thing I've been wondering is if all these exclusives are getting as many eyeballs as they would on the open market. Are they being seen as much or less? The thing is, I look at the list of Oscar nominations every year ever since they started including streaming outlets, and I'd say more than half are on services I'll never have access to. I'd have to think the viewership numbers are a lot narrower than they would be if they were also available elsewhere. I've noticed though that some movies are now starting to migrate over to other services, such as Sound of Metal, which was previously an Amazon exclusive, presumably meaning a contract has expired. It's popped up on Netflix a few months ago.
this reminds me of David Duchovny’s lawsuit against the X-files. He argued, not unreasonably, that Fox sold the syndication rights to their own subsidiary (FX) at a cost that would deflate his residuals.