WGA West report calls for government regulation of ‘anti-competitive practices’

On By christine-samra

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Studio heads will be holding a joint call on Friday to discuss their next move in the ongoing writers’ strike, reports Variety.

This comes after the WGA and major studios spent a third day this week at the negotiating table.

The big issues that remain are around streaming residuals and protections from Artificial Intelligence.

The WGA West released a report on Thursday that called for more government regulation of, what it calls, “anti-competitive” practices of big studios.

Members of the Writers Guild of America, WGA picket outside CBS Television City in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles Tuesday, May 2, 2023. The first Hollywood strike in 15 years began Tuesday as the economic pressures of the streaming era prompted unionized TV and film writers to picket for better pay outside major studios, a work stoppage that already is leading most late-night shows to air reruns. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

According to the report, Disney has reduced film output and shut down competing studios to get rid of independent content from its distribution networks.

“Disney has grown through a series of multibillion-dollar acquisitions, using its power to reduce film output, shut down competing studios, foreclose independent content from its distribution networks, expand control of the labor market, and force creators to give up financial participation in future licensing revenue,” the report said.

The report also claimed Amazon used the same tactics, which utilized anti-competitive behavior and its power as a big tech company to underpay writers.

“Amazon has gained a sizeable footprint in media in a short time by utilizing the well-documented playbook critical to its ascendance as a tech company,” the report continued. “Though anticompetitive behavior and vertical integration, Amazon has harmed competitors, privileged its related business, and abused employer leverage to underpay writers.”

The guild found that Netflix had been using its position as the biggest streaming service to decrease spending on content from independent studios and to raise prices for its subscribers.

“Netflix was once an innovative competitor but is now using its position as the largest streaming service in the world to abuse its leverage as an employer, decrease innovative content spending and raise prices for consumers. The company has cut out independent producers and severely underpaid writers in multiple areas, and a series of recent acquisitions signal its intent to further increase dominance and market power in order to reduce innovative content investment.”

Writers within the union have been on strike since early May with members of SAG-AFTRA following suit in mid-July.

So far, no deal has been made with the two unions and the film studios.

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