With time comes change. Advancements in technology have altered the way movies and TV are created and consumed. A major change being made in the past years is the switch from cable TV to streaming services. Now, streaming services are the main way people consume media and is sometimes the only way to watch the shows you want to watch. Popular streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu, and Max have an average monthly subscription of $9 with ads. A premium subscription with no ads costs around $16. With content constantly being added and removed from these services, you don’t have full control over what you want to watch unless you have multiple subscriptions.
Streaming services don’t just affect consumers, they also impact the payment of creators due to changes in residuals. Residuals are financial compensations paid to the creators of TV shows and movies in the case of cable reruns. Because of streaming services, now residuals are mainly a set amount of money and aren’t paid based on the success of the content. A TV show could be extremely popular and cause thousands of people to subscribe to a streaming service just to view it, and the creators of that TV show won’t see any of that money.
When creators aren’t being paid enough for their art, there is no incentive to make anything good. This is why so many TV shows aren’t well made or even thought out. The main goal is to make something good enough to get picked up by a streaming service, not something popular that people will enjoy. From around May to November of 2023, the Writers Guild of America and the American actors’ Union went on strike. One of their major demands was for better residuals and pay for the work they do. I think the majority of people believe that if you work in Hollywood you’re making large amounts of money, but this just isn’t true. If you aren’t well known in the industry, you probably won’t be making enough money for necessities without a second job.
Writers and actors striking is a step in the right direction for the future of television. It’s necessary that the creation of good art becomes a stable career option. When contributors to a TV show are being paid fairly for their work, good things will be created.
