LOS ANGELES – Thousands of film and television writers will go on strike starting Tuesday, May 2, throwing Hollywood into turmoil as the entertainment business grapples with seismic changes triggered by the global streaming TV boom.
The Guild represents roughly 11,500 writers in New York, Los Angeles and elsewhere. Members were scheduled to start picketing outside of Hollywood studios starting Tuesday afternoon. The rise of streaming has led to declining television ad revenue, as traditional TV audiences shrink and advertisers go elsewhere. On top of that, the threat of a recession in the world’s biggest economy also looms.
The WGA countered that the studios’ responses to its proposals “have been wholly insufficient, given the existential crisis writers are facing.”