November 2, 2007
Statement from AMPTP President Nick Counter

The WGA’s call for a strike is precipitous and irresponsible.

The writer is one of our most highly regarded assets and one of our most highly rewarded.  Working writers on average earn over $200,000 a year.  All they have to do is earn $31,000 to qualify for a full year of coverage in the finest health care plan in the country.  And they are among the few employees in the world who get an “additional annuity” in the form of residuals beyond their initial compensation.

Last year alone, WGA West writers made in excess of $56 million in additional compensation from DVD residuals.  It makes absolutely no sense to increase the burden of this additional compensation.  Their DVD proposal would more than double the cost to Producers.

As we said on the 31st, we worked very hard to come up with a package in response to their last proposal and the companies believe that movement on other issues is possible.  But the magnitude of the DVD proposal alone is blocking us from making any further progress.

Instead of working toward solutions that would give the industry the flexibility it needs to meet today's business challenges, the WGA leadership continues to pursue numerous unreasonable proposals that would result in astronomical and unjustified increases in our costs, further restrict our ability to produce, promote and market TV series and films, and prohibit us from experimenting with programming and business models in New Media. 

The WGA leadership continues to mischaracterize the current provisions for compensation in New Media.  When a consumer pays to view a TV program or a feature film for a limited period of time, the writer gets a residual.  When the consumer pays for a permanent download of a TV program or feature film, the writer gets a residual.  As agreed to in past negotiations, the writer gets paid (plus gets pension and health contributions) for projects made specifically for New Media. The amount of the compensation is not a fixed amount, but is negotiated with the producer. 

It is crucial that we have provisions that encourage--not inhibit--our ability to experiment, innovate, analyze and adapt to the transformative changes confronting us.  We cannot ignore the challenges of today’s economic realities, the shifts in audience taste and viewing habits and the unpredictability of the still-evolving technology.

Our goal continues to be to reach a fair and reasonable agreement that will keep the industry working.