Media, employers use Directors Guild deal as a battering ram against striking writers

Regarding ad-supported Internet streaming, the Directors Guild leaders accepted a residual-free 17-day window (a 24-day window for a series in its first season) and a flat fee of some $1,200 within the first year after the initial broadcast. This is a miserable amount, which would not provide writers with reasonable compensation for their efforts. The studios and producers get all the revenue from the first few weeks of ad-supported streaming, when the product will be most widely viewed.

In reality, if the terms agreed upon by the DGA leadership are forced on the writers, it would constitute a defeat and open the door for new attacks on the conditions of every section of workers in the film and television industry.

Intentionally or not, the DGA leadership has become part of the effort to drive back the writers and force them to submit to the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, (AMPTP), which remains steadfastly opposed to the writers’ entirely legitimate demands.