Netflix to pay $42 million in writers' compensation dispute
Netflix will have to shell out big bucks in a battle over writers' salaries. As Deadline reports, the Writers Guild of America has won an arbitration decision that will force Netflix to pay 216 movie writers an additional $42 million in unpaid residuals. The WGA is also seeking an additional $13.5 million in late payment interest.
The WGA has accused Netflix of a "personal transaction" that helped it skimp on writers' salaries. Residuals from theatrical releases are supposed to be paid out of revenue earned in a given market, according to the guild, and licenses like Netflix's (where it's both producer and distributor) require relationship-based fees. more conventional – a Sony movie licensed from Netflix, for example. Netflix, however, reportedly brokered deals with the Directors Guild of America and Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) that allowed it to pay residuals on its own films for "significantly less" than the cost of the film.
The win was aided by an earlier win over Sandra Bullock's Bird Box, the WGA claimed. An arbitrator found that Netflix significantly underpaid a screenwriter using a formula like the one in the last dispute. The officiant told Netflix to pay the writer $1.2 million in residuals and interest.
We've asked Netflix for a comment. However, the WGA has not been shy about voicing its criticisms. He characterized Netflix as one of the "worst violators" of basic guild agreements for residuals, and saw the arbitration as a pushback against media companies trying to "cut" payment through streaming services. . Don't be surprised if there are more battles like this in the industry.
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Netflix will have to shell out big bucks in a battle over writers' salaries. As Deadline reports, the Writers Guild of America has won an arbitration decision that will force Netflix to pay 216 movie writers an additional $42 million in unpaid residuals. The WGA is also seeking an additional $13.5 million in late payment interest.
The WGA has accused Netflix of a "personal transaction" that helped it skimp on writers' salaries. Residuals from theatrical releases are supposed to be paid out of revenue earned in a given market, according to the guild, and licenses like Netflix's (where it's both producer and distributor) require relationship-based fees. more conventional – a Sony movie licensed from Netflix, for example. Netflix, however, reportedly brokered deals with the Directors Guild of America and Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) that allowed it to pay residuals on its own films for "significantly less" than the cost of the film.
The win was aided by an earlier win over Sandra Bullock's Bird Box, the WGA claimed. An arbitrator found that Netflix significantly underpaid a screenwriter using a formula like the one in the last dispute. The officiant told Netflix to pay the writer $1.2 million in residuals and interest.
We've asked Netflix for a comment. However, the WGA has not been shy about voicing its criticisms. He characterized Netflix as one of the "worst violators" of basic guild agreements for residuals, and saw the arbitration as a pushback against media companies trying to "cut" payment through streaming services. . Don't be surprised if there are more battles like this in the industry.
All products recommended by Engadget are selected by our editorial team, independent of our parent company. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you purchase something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
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