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Hollywood writers threaten strike

April 25, 2017

By Chris Forrester

The powerful Writers Guild of America’s (WGA) membership have voted overwhelmingly to go on strike. The WGA is arguing that Hollywood’s TV and movie producers are under-paying minimum fees and is seeking closer parity between ‘network’ and cable-based TV series productions.

Some 96 per cent of votes supported the strike call. The WGA said that 67 percent of its members voted. A meeting is scheduled for April 25th but the threat is that a strike could begin as soon as May 2nd, and this could immediately impact work being done on the Autumn season of new productions.

The last time the WGA held a strike was a 100-day stoppage which started in November 2007.

A key complaint is that fees for the new crop of SVoD ‘broadcasters’ and shows which are commissioned for cable networks are lower than for conventional mainstream network TV.

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