Streaming Services Debate Whether To Shelve Shows Amid Strikes
Image Source: Logopedia
The Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) has joined the Writers Guild of America (WGA) following failed contract negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). This has led to a halt in new and ongoing Hollywood productions, though some projects were finished before the strikes began. A new question has arisen, whether every one of these projects should come out on the original schedule or be delayed.
The Hollywood Reporter spoke with unnamed insiders in the business to gauge the direction of the platforms and what the climate is looking like. It is important to note that cast members currently cannot participate in the promotional period for productions. This both hurts the cast who would want to participate in appearances and interviews, and the productions themselves for advertisement and hype-building.
RELATED:
Image Source: The New Yorker
A solid decision to shelve content has not been made across the board for reasons ranging from waiting to see what their competition does, to hoping for a short strike period. This is a decision that needs to be made with an abundance of caution, as the health of a platform relies on regularly dropping new content to some degree. Despite a television series being easier to shelve than a theater film, holding it for too long can damage its performance as well; it’s a heavy balancing act.
One unnamed source briefly described the current conversation in the following statement:
“There are lots of discussions happening around how do we make sure that, at least over the course of the next year, we have a steady cadence of content, even if it’s less content. And if people weren’t starting to have these discussions, what you’d see is continued launches in Q3 and Q4 and then a very, very steep drop-off in Q1 of next year.”
READ NEXT:
Source(s): The Hollywood Reporter, Time
Latest News
Featured
