SAG Formally Rejects AMPTP Contract Offer

The Screen Actors Guild has not accepted the June 30 contract offer by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, with the actors' chief negotiator stating that the contract "template" established by pacts with writers and directors does not protect actors. In a letter to SAG members, chief negotiator and national executive director Doug Allen said the programming "landscape has dramatically shifted" in the six months since the contract was signed with the Directors Guild of America. The union cites, as justification for shunning the deal, dozens of investments in media streaming and VOD delivery schemes by major media companies since the beginning of the year. SAG is displeased with the current offer because, for instance, the union believes it gives producers a "pass" on residuals for non-union new media projects, as long as the budget is kept below $15,000 per minute. SAG has apparently countered with terms that would base made-for new media residuals on a fixed percentage, meaning that if the content made no money, actors would get no residuals.