The agreement also includes improved terms for series employment, staffing and duration provisions for episodic series, and improved options, exclusivity, and span protections. Other changes include an increase in the number of episodes on new made for broadcast series that can get a single free “promotional” run, and allowing a company to credit a sole writer/director or writer/producer of a project as “produced by” or “presented by” in publicity releases or advertising without a separate writing credit. The agreement is effective from September 25, 2023, to May 1, 2026.
Key takeaways:
- The term of the agreement is from September 25, 2023, to May 1, 2026, with most MBA minimums increasing by 5% upon ratification of the contract, 4% on 5/2/2024, and 3.5% on 5/2/2025.
- Regulations have been established for the use of artificial intelligence (AI) on MBA-covered projects, including that AI can't write or rewrite literary material, and companies must disclose to the writer if any materials given to them have been generated by AI.
- Improved terms have been negotiated for screenwriter employment, high budget subscription video on demand (HBSVOD), and advertising-supported streaming (AVOD).
- There are also improved options, exclusivity, and span protections, with the salary limit under which these protections apply increasing from $325,000 to $350,000 as of May 2, 2024.