Earnings for TV and film writers plummeted by $603 million – or about 32% – last year as the Writers Guild of America slogged through a 148-day strike and the downslide from “Peak TV” began.
The earnings are used to calculate member dues, and were included in an annual report distributed to members Friday. Total earnings fell to $1.29 billion in 2023, the lowest level [when adjusted for inflation] since the 2007-08 writers’ strike, according to the document obtained by TheWrap.
Employment among writers decreased by 19.5%, with only 5,501 writers working, the lowest count since 2014. The union attributed the significant declines to “both the industry contraction and the companies’ refusal to negotiate a fair deal, resulting in a five-month strike that ended once the companies agreed to address issues across the membership.”
“During this turbulent period, writers in all fields experienced reductions in employment and earnings,” the report stated.
After the 100-day strike in 2008, overall earnings fell by 15%. The substantial 32% decrease in 2023 may be adjusted next year due to delays in dues reporting.
The report highlighted that employment had peaked just before the strike, with 6,835 writers reporting income in 2022, or 80% higher than the figure from 30 years ago.
