A vast majority of Americans support Hollywood writers and actors striking for better pay and working conditions over the entertainment studios, according to a new poll.
The Gallup’s annual Work and Education poll, conducted this month, found that 72% of Americans side with TV and film writers. The data also showed 67% of Americans supported TV and film actors on strike.
The data, spotted earlier by Deadline, was released on the 121st day of the Writer’s Guild Strike. So far, studio heads and representatives for WGA and SAG-AFTRA haven’t found common ground. The poll’s results reflect entertainment consumers sympathizing with those on strike, who are prepared to strike into 2024.
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) outlined its latest concessions earlier this month to striking writers, which included a guaranteed minimum length of employment, controls around generative artificial intelligence usage, wage and residual increases and quarterly reports on viewing hours per title for streaming shows. The WGA maintained that the counteroffer failed to address multiple issues raised by the union.
The WGA and the AMPTP weren’t immediately available for comment.
The strike leaves the fate of the 2023-2024 television season up in the air along with several movie projects. Hollywood writers are demanding concessions like increased pay and job security. Over 11,000 writers joined the first Hollywood strike in 15 years in response to the ripple effects of the streaming industry.
The viewer migration to streaming services has impacted how writers get paid. Streamed TV shows often have half as many episodes as broadcast TV series, which translates to a smaller paycheck for writers. Shows on streaming services can also have longer breaks between seasons which can leave writers out of work until a new season is greenlit by studios or resumes filming. There are also far fewer residuals, or those checks paid out to writers and actors after the show airs.
According to a release from the WGA in March, writers are underpaid with reduced hours and lack basic protections of a minimum bargaining agreement.
“[W]hile series budgets have soared over the past decade, median writer-producer pay has fallen,” the WGA said at the time.