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The
guild, which has been on strike since May 2, issued a report
arguing that the three companies were poised to become "the new
gatekeepers of media" and have abused their positions "to
further disadvantage competitors, raise prices for consumers,
and push down wages for the creative workforce."
The union urged regulators to block any further consolidation in
the industry, "proactively investigate anti-competitive issues
and outcomes" and increase regulation and oversight of the
streaming business.
Representatives for Disney, Amazon and Netflix did not
immediately respond to requests for comment.
A spokesperson for the Federal Trade Commission referred to
recent comments in a podcast by Chair Linda Khan.
"The combination of this consolidation and vertical integration
seems to have created a market structure where we hear about how
writers and producers and showrunners are all making less, even
as companies are charging customers more. And critics seem to
say that the quality of content being produced is actually in
decline," Khan told The Ankler podcast.
"So increasingly we see some of the red flags that suggest the
market structure is not actually serving the creators or the
ultimate viewers," Khan added.
The roughly 11,500 members of the WGA have called for higher
compensation, staffing guarantees and protections around the use
of artificial intelligence (AI), among other demands, in talks
with Hollywood studios. The SAG-AFTRA actors union, which went
on strike July 14, also is seeking an increase in base pay and
residuals.
WGA and studio negotiators recently returned to the bargaining
table but have yet to reach a deal.
The WGA letter did not single out other companies, including
Apple, Google parent Alphabet and Warner Bros Discovery, which
also offer streaming media options.
(Reporting by Lisa Richwine and Dawn Chmielewski; Editing by
David Gregorio)
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