How the Hollywood Writers’ Strike Affects Advertisers

Announced by the Writers Guild of America West (WGA), the stoppage should affect 600 productions and generate a loss of more than US$ 2 billion

The Hollywood industry was impacted by the writers’ strike, announced by the Writers Guild of America West (WGA), the union of United States screenwriters, on the last day 2.

According to the union, without readjustments since 2018, the average salary of the American screenwriter has devalued 14% because of inflation in the last five years. In addition, the WGA also wants to discuss the future impact of artificial intelligence on the screenwriting profession.

The strike was motivated after attempts to reach an agreement between the main studios and the workers regarding an increase in wages, which did not happen. On April 17, the union held a vote among the members to approve the strike, which was accepted by 97.85% of the participants.

“The decision was made after six weeks of negotiations with Netflix, Amazon, Apple, Disney, Warner, NBC Universal, Paramount and Sony, under the umbrella of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP),” the WGA said in a statement. a press release.

According to data from the Alliance of Film and TV Producers, which represents the studios in the negotiation, the stoppage should affect 600 productions, generating a loss of more than US$ 2 billion to the US country. Among the affected shows are the fifth and final season of Stranger Things, Abbott Elementary, Yellowjackets, Billions, Cobra Kai and the spin-off series A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. , from the Game of Thrones saga.

In addition to these, weekly US TV programs such as the talk shows The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Late Night with Seth Meyers were also affected.

How are the advertisers?
With the stoppage, there was the question of how this would affect the advertisers of the programs. According to Leandro Maciel, professor of the Communication, Digital Media and Art courses at Anhembi Morumbi, the strike may be speaking from an advertising point of view, in the case of traditional TV that includes both open and closed.

“Players will be forced to renegotiate or simply cancel agreements that are linked to some specific production. Particularly, agencies that work with the launch of channels and streamings will suffer from the delay”, explained the professor.

In the USA, the programs happen for seasons and, consequently, the sponsorship negotiations too. Mariana Munis, professor of marketing and consumer behavior at Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie Campinas, highlighted that the current moment in which the strike took place is crucial for advertisers, since this is the time of year when decisions are made about where they will exhibit their brands in the long term.

With the stoppages, Mariana also believes that reruns should take over American screens, causing advertisers to seek to renegotiate the values. “With this delay in premieres, the media may want to reprise some programs and advertisers will want to renegotiate airing values, since there is nothing new in the programming”.

Roberto S Filho, professor of the Communication and Advertising course at ESPM Rio and president of CCRJ, endorsed the professor’s speech and reinforced that, now, TV companies will need to provide information about new productions and, if they are interrupted, renegotiate the terms. prices and terms with customers.

“The writers’ strike in the US could affect brands in terms of long-term advertising commitments. Networks and advertisers are concerned about the possible impact of the loss of scripted programming,” stated S Filho.

According to the professors interviewed by the article, the demonstration should further increase advertisers’ search for other forms of dissemination, such as YouTube and Tiktok.

“Television networks should prepare measures that offer precautions and flexibility in advertising commitments. And media buyers expect transparency and flexibility in advertising negotiations during the strike. The strike may lead to advantages in negotiating prices and terms, despite of the possible negative impacts”, said the ESPM Rio professor.

What about Brazil?
Despite following US trends, Mariana believes that the strike should not reach Brazilian soil. For her, one of the things that sets us apart from the US is the fact that Brazil is one of the leading countries in content for digital media, meaning that national screenwriters do not work with productions that do not only include television.

“Screenwriters are not so ‘in the hands’ of TV in Brazil because they write for other places. Furthermore, unfortunately we do not have a Brazilian cinema that is so valued by the domestic market, which makes us produce less than the US, when it comes to of movies,” said Mackenzie’s teacher.

J Roberto S Filho thinks that, although it is unfair to compare markets, the stoppage could have an impact on advertising negotiations in Brazil, causing more transparency and flexibility to be demanded of programmers.

“Linear TV companies will be the most affected, while streamers will be less affected, as they have more content available. Advertisers may have advantages in negotiating prices and terms, as a precaution against this happening here”, he explained.

Brazil also has an organization of screenwriters, the Associação Brasileira de Autores Roteiristas (ABRA) but, despite having been in favor of a strike in the US, it does not act as a union.