In April of this year, Warner Brothers Discovery PresidentDavid Zaslavhad announced that the company would belaunching a new streaming platformto cater to the needs audiences who rely on WBD pool of content for entertainment value.HBO Maxwas being rebranded simply toMax, however, come launch day, the new streaming service had a pretty awful opening, and it would only get worse.
Warner Bros Discovery’s delay in fixing the error is sure to draw very little sympathy from the creatives at the center.The Writer’s Guild Association had embarked on a strikesince the start of the month, and rightly so seeking to get better compensation and conditions of service delivery. The credits violation by Max is sure to have struck nerves that are currently twitchy at the moment. A joint release from WGA West chiefMeredith Stiehmand DGA bossLesli Linka Glatteron Wednesday echoed that reality. “Warner Bros has lumped writers, directors and producers into an invented, diminishing category they call Creators,” it read. “This is a credits violation for starters. But worse, it is disrespectful and insulting to the artists that make the films and TV shows that make their corporation billions.” Angst directed toward Warner Bros Discovery is already high as seen at Zaslav’s recent outing at Boston University. The company CEO washeckled and booedwhile students demanded, “Pay your writers.”
RELATED:New Max Streamer Fails to Provide Credit to Specific Writers Amid Ongoing Strike
Why is the WGA Striking?
Tuesday, May 2nd saw the board of directors of the WGA which consists of the East and West councils,vote unanimously in favor of a strikeafter not being able to come to terms with studios in Hollywood regarding the terms of their film and TV contracts.The WGA are campaigning fora higher base salary to compensate for the advancements that have been made in the industry in recent times. There is also a need for reassurances regarding the use of AI with regard to scriptwriting. The last strike of this kind happened in 2007 becoming a months long affair which cost Hollywood billions.
Read more about the WGA Strike, and what it means to you as a viewer, and why you should support the writers in their quest for fairness.
