OKT. American actors and authors strike: it’s not about fear of AI, it’s Netflix’s fault

A three-month-long strike that, despite the recent announcement of a return to the negotiating table, risks dragging on months and months and in which artists, actors, authors and workers participate.
One stop to all industries that put big companies in crisis net Americans and possibly some OCT, already suffering from many other problems.
Well, judging by the interesting element appeared at the end of July Wall Street Journal There is only one root and it is called … Netflix.
So let’s try to tell what’s going on based on this authoritative source that goes beyond mere explanation.”actors go on strike against artificial intelligence“.

Parties involved

The parties involved are mainly actors and screenwriters (represented by Screen Actors Guild AND Writers Guild of America ) and their clients: production studios, net traditional and platform broadcast.

Problems for TV presenter traditional

Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount Global and Walt Disney considered to be among the companies hardest hit by this strike.

replicas

The content of the TV season, which starts in September, must actually be ready or in progress editing finale: and instead it is now known with certainty that the audience belonging net they will only apply to replicas.

Claims

But what is stated? Beyond the light media story about AI, what everyone is asking for is higher compensation.

1 million per episode

Which comes as a surprise at a time when Jenna Ortega can afford to ask for a million dollars per episode (“north of $1 million.”second bloomberg); but Los Angeles is made up of more than just superstar

neither during COVID-19 many artists found themselves in a quandary. Why?

Historical balances

Chroniclers of magazine decided to take part in the demonstration in order to directly hear the voice of those who are protesting.

No mention of AI

Didn’t hear any mention of AI: rather, they understood how the arrival OCT altered—and ultimately befuddled—the balance in a world accustomed to the glory of the gods. package cable.

Voice from the street

For example, this is what he said during the demonstration Nelson Franklin, an actor who has always been on the show Blackish From ABC: “I was an actor for 15 years and had a pleasant middle class existence doing this job.

Times have changed

But things have changed in the last 6-7 years… I’ve seen firsthand how my profession shrinks over time, with less money for real work and less reward for reruns, not to mention no residual streaming rights. “.

Can’t support

“Currently, I can’t support myself with this job – a middle-class actor can’t survive on current streaming contracts.”

5 seasons, 100 episodes

So what has changed for actors? In the traditional television world, the greatest financial benefit of one show – and therefore the actors – arrived after about 100 episodes, the equivalent of 5 seasons.

Syndication

At this point, the content has transitioned to “syndication‘, with reruns on local cable and television channels and license agreements for overseas markets. It should be emphasized thatAlso show less successful networkers provided economic security, albeit for a mere white-collar salary.

Cinematic income

There were also checks (derived from royalties) big enough for actors and writers to help out between jobs. The American version of the right to citizenship, if a bold comparison is allowed.

Netflix: one check, no answers

Nell broadcast instead they pay the actors in advancewhen signing or when posting content Online. But since show they live forever on the platform and do not copy everything that stops there.

Nothing foreign

On the one hand, the very concept of replication has lost all meaning, on the other Netflix it is, by definition, global, and therefore “foreign” distribution agreements are irrelevant.

Models business

Thus, the punishment of workers is ultimately a consequence of the transformation of the business model, historically based on package by cable (or via satellite in the Italian case): diabolical inventions that forced customers to pay for dozens and dozens of unwanted channels and their schedules filled with replays (the so-called “classic”).

Cord cutter

Users have been looking for alternatives for years, and when this one finally came out, they didn’t wait long to turn into “cord cutters“.

originals and acquisitions

From the beginning to the fateful April 2022 Netflix aggressively focused on acquiring content from studios and producing all kinds of “original“.

That’s all

Here, too, with a precise payment system: an important, generous one-time check upon creation. That’s all, that’s all.

Other OCT

However, in order to satisfy Wall Street with exceptional results, traditional research (Disney, Paramount e.) split from many of their series by transferring rights Netflix.

Fatal error

Fatal mistake: they not only fed the enemy, giving him the opportunity to grow for years without competition, but also contributed to

at the same time to the expected obsolescence of its own Milch cowline channels in package traditional.

All+

This is not enough. I realized unstoppable growth Netflix and at the urging Wall Streetstudios started creating platforms OCT competitors invariably referred to as “pros”: Disney+, Paramount+, ESPN+, CNN+.

Disney+

Spending unreasonable amounts of money for the sole purpose of making the customer acquisition curve faster than the curve Netflix. On Netherlands for example, we followed the growth Disney+which came at the cost of sky-high financial losses.

black day

But a rainy day Netflix it changed everything.
That day (April 2022) represented a break that made everyone realize that exponential (or even linear) growth cannot be forever.

Difference between OCT

And the point is that for Netflix all this probably came at the right time. But not for their competitors.

Focus

From April 2022 new mantra the global is called focusfocus: on series that work, on cost control, on offers to customers.

bias

A focus requested Wall Street others too OCT, but that it happened at the wrong time for them, as they were still busy in the customer acquisition phase. Forcing cut and resize too fast, with consequences we’ve also seen for actors and writers.

Case Disney

Disney+largest and once dangerous competitor Netflix paid the price: did not gain a critical number of subscribers, did not earn money and dragged the parent company Disney in a difficult situation that is not even new-old CEOthe magic Bob Iger can’t straighten up.

Big (Magical) Mess

Even the formula was announced on the day of return,”I firmly believe that storytelling (storytelling) is the fuel of this company and should always be at the heart of how we work and organize our activities.” Doesn’t work. To the point of making him state that Disney AND “in a big mess“.

Get rid of linear channels

The situation is so serious that it forces him to declare (su CNBC) the intention to part with all linear channels. ABC, ESPN and other major TV channels are sold at a discount. Definitely another interesting story that we will try to tell in the coming weeks. (MHB for the Netherlands)