Media stocks fell on Thursday after talks between the union representing film and television actors and the studios fell apart, signaling to Wall Street that there’s no end in sight for the Hollywood actors strike.
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers said Wednesday night its talks with SAG-AFTRA were suspended after the union presented its most recent proposal. AMPTP bargains on behalf of firms with entertainment businesses like
Netflix,
Walt Disney,
Warner Bros. Discovery,
Paramount,
Comcast,
and
Amazon.com.
“After meaningful conversations, it is clear that the gap between AMPTP and SAG-AFTRA is too great, and conversations are no longer moving us in a productive direction,” AMPTP said in a statement.
AMPTP said SAG-AFTRA’s current offer included a viewership bonus that would cost more than $800 million a year. It said that would “create an untenable economic burden.” In a message to members it shared with Barron’s, SAG-AFTRA accused AMPTP of turning to “bully tactics” by overstating the cost of its proposal by 60%.
“They have done the same with A.I., claiming to protect performer consent, but continuing to demand ‘consent’ on the first day of employment for use of a performer’s digital replica for an entire cinematic universe (or any franchise project),” SAG-AFTRA continued.
An AMPTP representative didn’t offer additional comment when asked about SAG-AFTRA’s characterizations.
After AMPTP reached a deal last month to end the writers strike, there was some hope on Wall Street that studios could reach a deal with SAG-AFTRA to end a monthslong stoppage on Hollywood sets. Shares of firms that generate significant profits producing films and TV shows were hardest hit on Thursday.
Paramount Global
shares (ticker: PARA) dropped 3.4% on Thursday.
Warner Bros. Discovery
shares (WBD) fell 5.8%.
Walt Disney
stock (DIS) closed down 0.6%.
Netflix
stock (NFLX) fell 1.3%.
Comcast
stock (CMCSA) fell 0.8%.
The tone in messaging from AMPTP and SAG-AFTRA signals there’s a long road ahead before the latter of 2023’s dual Hollywood strikes wraps up, which portends more pain ahead for media stocks.
Write to Connor Smith at [email protected]
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