<\/p>\n
In July, Disney CEO Bob Iger drew heat after he declared that the demands of striking writers and actors were \u201cjust not realistic.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, during a quarterly earnings call, his message sounded very different.<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing is more important to this company than its relationships with the creative community, and that includes actors, writers, animators, directors, and producers,\u201d Iger said in prepared remarks. \u201cI have deep respect and appreciation for all those who are vital to the extraordinary creative engine that drives this company and our industry. It is my fervent hope that we quickly find solutions to the issues that have kept us apart these past few months, and I am personally committed to working to achieve this result.\u201d<\/p>\n
As the writers\u2019 strike of 2023 officially stretches past its hundredth day and the actors\u2019 strike approaches the one-month mark, neither seems much closer to a deal as some talks are, after months of dragging, slated to resume today. In the last few weeks,\u00a0 media executives\u2019 comments to analysts and investors have contained a message of earnestness and a commitment to striking a deal ASAP.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re super committed to getting to an agreement as soon as possible\u2014one that\u2019s equitable and one that enables the industry and everybody in it to move forward into the future,\u201d Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos told investors in July.<\/p>\n
Other execs sang a similar tune. \u201cOur partnership with the creative community is critical to the health of our industry, so we remain hopeful for a timely resolution, and we are committed to finding a path forward,\u201d Paramount CEO Bob Bakish said this week, while Comcast president Michael Cavanagh shared a similar sentiment late last month: \u201cWe remain committed to reaching a fair deal as soon as possible so we can get back to doing what we do best, which is making great content together,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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Warner Bros, Discovery CEO David Zaslav, whose aggressive cost-cutting measures and leadership decisions have attracted criticism, offered a verbal olive branch last week.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re in the business of storytelling \u2026and we cannot do any of that without the entirety of the creative community,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re hopeful that all sides will get back to the negotiating room soon and that these strikes get resolved in a way that the writers and actors feel they are fairly compensated and their efforts and contributions are fully valued.\u201d<\/p>\n
Put your money where your mouth is? <\/strong>The reality is that negotiations between\u00a0the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (which represents the major studios including Netflix, Paramount, Warner Bros., and Comcast-owned Universal Pictures) have remained at an almost-complete standstill for months. Some industry reporting has suggested that the plan for some on the studio side is to financially grind down union members until they capitulate to studio demands, something that the AMPTP denied.<\/p>\n Last week, the AMPTP sat down with representatives from the Writers Guild but failed to reach an agreement to continue contract negotiations. Meanwhile, Fran Drescher, the president of the actors\u2019 union SAG-AFTRA, said this week in a statement that the AMPTP has \u201cnot contacted us to resume talks.\u201d On Thursday, entertainment business chronicler Matthew Belloni reported<\/a> that the AMPTP planned to resume bargaining with the Writers Guild on Friday.<\/p>\n The timeline: <\/strong>Some media companies seem to be anticipating that the strikes will end sometime in the fall. At Warner Bros. Discovery, for example, the company\u2019s modeling \u201cassumes a return-to-work date in early September,\u201d CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels told investors last week. In the meantime, WBD and Paramount reported additional free cash flow since productions are at a standstill. Warner Bros. Discovery said it saved around $100 million in the quarter due to the effects of the strikes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n