The AMPTP is in charge of determining the share producers must give to each participant of a project, be it movies or TV series. Before the rise of services such as Netflix and Apple TV+, the divide was clear and considered “fair” thanks to a massive strike between ‘07 and ‘08. However, the new economic model offered by these services changed how residuals are paid to each person. 

The main example used to illustrate that, was a comparison between Stephen Colbert’s Late Night Show, and Jon Stewart’s The Problem. The former is a traditional broadcast on television, while the latter is streamed on Apple TV+. The issue that arose came when writers for The Problem, had to go negotiate their individual paychecks, and were paid far less for the same amount of work. It’s one example, but it can be applied to all productions released directly on streaming platforms these days.

This engaged both parties into negotiations to restore the balance to something more fair for writers. However, they couldn’t get to an agreement. The WGA estimated the yield for its registered writers should land around $429 million per year, whereas the AMPTP  was only willing to offer $86 million a year. This isn’t the only issue that led to the strike, and the second reason is the one that affects us the most.