The Writers Guild of America has reached a tentative agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers to end its strike after almost five months, sending movie theater stocks soaring. “We have reached a tentative agreement on a new 2023 MBA, which is to say an agreement in principle on all deal points, subject to drafting final contract language,” said the WGA in a release to its members.
Although the final conditions of the agreement have not been released, it is known that the WGA has requested that its members not return to work until SAG-AFTRA also has a deal with AMPTP in solidarity with their sister union.
Economists have estimated that the combined strikes of the two unions have cost the California economy nearly $5 billion, and media companies across the nation are even more in the hole; media stocks, which have been plummeting during the strikes, are still down. Warner Bros. Discovery is down 2.5%, and Disney, Comcast, and Paramount are down by a little less than 1%.
However, streaming giants like Netflix and movie theater companies have seen a boost since the announcement of the WGA deal. Netflix is up over 1%, AMC Entertainment is up 9%, and Cinemark is up 3.54%.
With the SAG-AFTRA deal impending, only time can tell what will be in store for the actors and media companies.
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