It came as no surprise to anyone when the Writers Guild of America West’s 2023 annual financial report showed that television and film writers’ earnings and employment had declined the same year that union members waged a 148-day strike against studios and streamers.
But one year later, in a work stoppage-free environment, employment dipped further than their strike-era levels, even as earnings slightly rebounded. That’s according to the union’s 2024 annual financial report, released Friday to members and reviewed by The Hollywood Reporter.
The document finds that in 2024 the total number of WGA West members reporting earnings fell 9.4 percent compared with the prior year and 24.3 percent from 2022. At $1.5 billion, members’ total earnings rose 12.7 percent compared with 2023, but were still 21 percent below 2022’s $1.9 billion.
It’s the latest sign of Hollywood companies reducing their output in a post-Peak TV, post-strikes world as a more cautious and risk-averse business culture has taken hold. “We anticipate 2024’s numbers to increase in subsequent reports, with late reporting to increase the number of writers employed to a level similar to 2023,” the union’s annual report stated. “Still, it is clear that the number of jobs has declined from peak years, caused by the companies’ pullback in number of streaming projects on top of prior declines in linear programming.”
The employment declines were steepest in television and digital platforms as well as in news, promotion, informational and interactive programming. Television and digital platform writer employment dropped nearly 11 percent between 2023 and 2024 and 28.5 percent from 2022. The WGA West represents thousands of writers in that category; on a smaller scale, news, promotion, informational and interactive programming writers dropped from 108 in 2022 to 94 in 2023 to 80 in 2024, a decline of nearly 26 percent.
In television, writer earnings rose 12.3 percent in 2024 compared with the year prior, but dropped 25 percent when weighed against 2022. In its news and promotion category, earnings dropped 9.3 percent compared with 2023 and 1.1 percent from 2022.
Writer employment fared better in theatrical films. The decline in 2024 compared with 2023 was only three percent but 16.2 percent in relation to 2022. The hit to earnings in film compared with two years prior wasn’t as stark as in television, either: Earnings rose in 2024 by 14.2 percent in contrast to the year prior and was 9.5 percent lower than the 2022 total.
Residuals were also down in 2024 compared with 2023, declining six percent. Still, an increase over a five-year period offered some space for optimism: The reuse payments were up 19.3 percent compared with 2019. The decline in television residuals was 12.4 percent compared with 2023, while in feature film it was 6.4 percent.
The WGA West offered members an early peek at their data on television writer declines in April, when the union revealed that during the 2023-2024 season, writer jobs were down 42 percent. “Writing careers have always been difficult to access and sustain, but the contraction has made it especially challenging,” the union said in an email. “We are all subject to the decisions of the companies that control this industry, who have pulled back spending on content based on the demands of Wall Street.”