WGA News: Netflix, Amazon And Hulu Forced To Pay More To Continue Producing Original Shows

Streaming video sites such as Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu need to keep producing original shows and now it looks like they will have to shell out a bit more to do so. The Writers Guild of America has come up with a new contract which will reportedly seek higher pay to writers for each episode of shows.

According to Deadline, high-budget shows will need to shell out between $3,448 to $34,637 per episode, an amount that varies depending on the platform and the length of the show. It is essentially the same deal the DGA negotiated for back in December.

The new WGA contract is now up for final ratification where voting has already started. This will go on until May 24 following its expiry last May 2. The new residual formula calls for services with 1 million or more subscribers in the U.S. and Canada, a domestic residual of 35% of an applicable minimum after 90 days of availability.

For the different streaming sites, the number crunch expectedly varies, Engadget reported. Like in the case of Netflix, they stand to pay $19,058 more in residuals over three years for each episode of a half-hour budget show. Amazon and Hulu will also need to add more numbers on their end with $10,004 and $3,338 respectively.

The decision of WGA to hike the residual numbers may come a bit of a surprise for most though expected. With the growing demand for original content to keep them alive, the modified contracts could be treated as added perks to motivate writers in a way.

Compared to the revenue that these sites take in from producing shows, the aforementioned hiked prices could be meager and something Amazon, Netflix and Hulu are bound to bite. The prices will vary though there is a chance that they take out the added cost on subscribers in the long run.