Posted in: Movies, TV | Tagged: amptp, wga

WGA Makes It Official: Tentative Agreement Reached with AMPTP

Following up on reports from earlier today, the WGA made it official: a tentative agreement on a new deal has been reached with the AMPTP.

Earlier today, reports hit the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) and the Writers Guild of America (WGA) had reached a tentative agreement, close to a month before the current deal was set to expire. Earlier tonight, the union made it official on social media, posting: "The WGA Negotiating Committee has unanimously approved a tentative agreement with the AMPTP for the 2026 Minimum Basic Agreement (MBA). This deal protects writers' health plan and puts it on a sustainable path, builds on gains from 2023, and helps address free work challenges. Members will receive more information in the coming days."

UPDATE: The AMPTP released the following statement: "The AMPTP has reached a tentative agreement with the WGA. We look forward to building on this progress as we continue working toward agreements that support long-term industry stability."

Though specific details will be made available over the next few days, the new deal is expected to include an injection of much-needed funds into the union's health fund (though cuts and adjustments to the plan to address costs are still expected). The union was also looking to build upon the gains from the 2023 deal on a number of other issues, including streaming residuals, TV staffing minimums, and artificial intelligence.

If you followed our coverage during the last go-around, you know the deal still needs a green light from the WGA board before it's sent to union members for ratification. If ratified, the process to locking down a new deal would be close to the complete opposite of what went down with the current contract, which came at the end of a 148-day strike. The news comes as the staff of the WGA West continues to strike to secure a better working deal with the union headquarters, which has now passed the six-week mark.

What about the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) and the Directors Guild of America (DGA), which both expire on June 30th? Interestingly enough, it was SAG-AFTRA that kicked off this year's round of union talks. After negotiating with the artists' union during February and March, talks hit the "PAUSE" button, with the AMPTP shifting its focus to locking down a deal with the WGA. It will be interesting to see how today's news could potentially shift talks with the WGA and DGA back to sooner rather than later.

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