Writers’ earnings down $600 million due to strike and industry recession, WGA says

Earnings for film and TV screenwriters fell by $603 million, or about 32%, last year as the end of “peak TV” coincided with a 148-day strike by the Writers Guild of America.

Writers’ earnings, as reported for dues purposes, fell to $1.29 billion in 2023. Adjusted for inflation, that is the lowest level since the 2007-08 writers’ strike.

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Employment fell 19.5% to 5,501 working writers, the lowest level since 2014.

In the first “double strike” since 1960, the WGA and SAG-AFTRA shut down most scripted production for six months, demanding higher pay and protections against artificial intelligence. At the same time, the television business shrank 14%, from 600 shows in 2022 to 516 in 2023.

The Writers Guild of America West released employment data in its annual report, which was sent to members on Friday.

In a report, the union said the steep declines reflected “both an industry recession and the refusal of companies to negotiate a fair deal, which led to a five-month strike that ended when the companies agreed to resolve the concerns of all members.”

“During this turbulent period, writers across all fields have seen their employment and earnings fall,” the union said.

Following the previous strike, which lasted 100 days, the guild saw a 15% drop in overall revenue for 2008. The dramatic 32% drop for 2023 will likely be revised next year to show a slightly smaller decline due to a delay in reporting dues.

The report also found that employment of writers hit a record high just before the strike, with 6,835 writers reporting earnings in 2022, an 80% increase on 30 years ago.

In nominal terms, writers’ earnings in 2022 will hit a record $1.89 billion. (Adjusted for inflation, the peak was in 2019.)

In addition to their regular earnings, writers received $598.5 million in royalties in 2023, an increase of 3.5% compared to 2022.

When writers were on the picket lines for five months, royalties were a larger share of their total income than usual. The annuity is typically 21-24% of a writer’s total compensation, but in 2023 it was 32%.

The residual data reflects the rapid shift toward streaming, with streaming platforms accounting for a majority of all residuals for the first time in 2022 and again in 2023.

More than 80% of streaming royalties come from films and TV shows originally made for theaters, broadcast, or cable. But royalties from shows made for streaming have been growing rapidly, jumping to $57.4 million in 2023, a 46% increase. The WGA said the increase was due to both more projects and improved streaming terms in its 2020 agreement.

In inflation-adjusted numbers, royalties peaked in 2022. That year, Netflix paid $62.5 million in arbitration over royalties from the film “Eyes Opened.”

The WGA has not released a 2023 employment report, citing the strike. The report released Friday covered two years of data. For TV writers, the numbers do not include “excess” income, which is not subject to contributions.

During the strike, the WGA West made hardship loans to its members from the strike fund and the Good & Welfare Fund. The annual report shows that members owed $6.2 million to these funds as of March 31.

The WGA strike resulted in pay increases of 5%, 4% and 3.5% respectively over the three years of the contract, as well as script royalties for television writers, full pension and health insurance for writing teams, and a guaranteed second draft for feature film writers.

The union estimated the contract value at $233 million per year, or $147 million more per year than the studio’s final offer before the strike.

The agreement also includes minimum staff sizes for TV shows that are not authored by a single writer, and a measure to prevent AI-written material from reducing writers’ pay or credit. The union also received a 50% residual bonus for the most-watched TV shows for streaming.

Film permitting data shows the industry was already starting to shrink before last year’s union strike. Recovery from the strike has been slow, as reality TV production collapsed while scripted production reached pre-strike levels.

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