A strike by the Writers Guild of America could negatively affect film production on streaming services, including Apple TV+. This is reported by 9to5Mac.
Hollywood screenwriters officially went on strike after the guild failed to reach a new deal with the studios by May 1 and the previous contract expired.
The situation is not pleasant. Negotiations can drag on for many months, because the parties are far from agreeing on working conditions. On behalf of its members, the Writers Guild of America is fighting for a higher base salary, a minimum number of screenwriters on staff, and more.
Negotiations have been ongoing since March with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which represents Hollywood studios, including streaming companies such as Apple.
The current strike will halt work on TV shows and movies in development. So streamers will be forced to change the release schedule of new tapes.
For example, Apple TV+ has about 30 known completed projects and about a dozen are in production. Recently, the company has been releasing about five new films a month. With this in mind, the stock of its content will be exhausted in eight months. Accordingly, Apple will probably have to reduce the planned number of releases for the near future.
And although the current situation may benefit services that seek to reduce costs, Apple is in a different “camp.” It needs more content to attract subscribers to TV+, which is still in its growth phase. The strike hampers those plans, as the company has only recently recovered from the impact of Covid-19 on content production.
We remind you that this is not the first time that Hollywood screenwriters have organized a strike. For example, in 2007, such an action lasted four months.
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