THB #379: What about SAG? - Part 2

So after Part 1, the focus of this part is about the 2 really tough areas of negotiation for SAG/Aftra and the AMPTP.

In the Residuals section, I hope to lay out how the biggest pockets of residuals currently work and why it is such a hard category to “win” for the union… or more to the point, to rebuilt what was so healthy about the old broadcast network system in comparison.

And then, AI (and performance capture)… oh… AI. Such a simple fix. But at the same time, expecting so much of the AMPTP as responsible citizens of the planet, much less show business.

Let’s get to it…

RESIDUALS

AMPTP has used the standard excuse of “we can’t afford to pay for emerging technology” for a very long time. Actors (and others) got screwed on VHS, DVD, and now, early Streaming.

Actors went through a transition very much like the Writers are now trying to escape. All the way back to the 2008 negotiations, the stage was set for AMPTP companies, then dominated by broadcast networks, to eliminate reruns from broadcast and even some cable outlets. Decades of negotiations built a system that paid the actors and writers very nicely for broadcast repeats and a little less nicely for cable.

But Hulu launched for the public between the settlement of the WGA strike and the end of the SAG contract. There would be no SAG strike, but the highly paid reruns were already disappearing as the organization fought amongst its own. By 2010, TV residuals had dropped 24% from 2007.

There have been decent increases in Streaming residuals since. Can’t pretend otherwise.

This video is 2 years old, but if you want a better sense of how the residual system works, this piece by SAG/Aftra, Understanding Residuals for SAG-AFTRA Performers, is very helpful. It takes some patience, but it is a very human conversation, not try legal words in a contract.

The key points:

After original compensation, there are 2 kinds of residuals. One is based on individual repeats, which is what we know (mostly) as traditional network rerun payments. The other is the Gross Receipts Residual, which is based on the deals that are made to sell a season or more of a show, whether it’s to Streaming or International or whatever. Gross Receipts are the primary way residuals get paid now.

The rule for High-Budget Streaming - which is all the major streamers - is that if you make a show for them, you get paid an annual residual after the first 90 days. If they buy a show from a network or anyone else who is paying per showing, the deal for the Streamer is for a year or more and your residual accrues from day one on an annual basis.