UPDATED, 12:45 PM: Writers Guild members have ratified their new three-year contract with PBS stations WGBH, Thirteen and PBS SoCal.
“PBS writers secured a groundbreaking contract with their unwavering solidarity,” WGAE President Lisa Takeuchi Cullen said in a statement. “This contract covers PBS animation writers for the first time. It also clarifies that writer-producers must be paid for each respective job function, and provides AI protections, paid parental leave and many other critical gains.”
Here are some highlights of the deal, provided by the union:
- All minimum rates will increase annually at the same percentage as the WGA’s Minimum Basic Agreement (MBA): 3.5% upon ratification; 3% on July 1, 2025; July 1, 2026 to follow the 2026 MBA;
- The Companies clarified that they will pay writer-producers a writing fee separately from their producing fee;
- The Companies will contribute an additional .5% of covered earnings to the PWGA Health Fund and any PBS writer covered by WGA health benefits may take up to eight weeks of protected, paid parental leave ($2,000 per week), even if they are not currently working;
- The WGA now covers animated programs over 5 minutes in length made for TV and new media. Pension & Health contributions will be paid on top of script fees for all writers and on top of weekly salaries for staff writers, head writers, and story editors. Minimum rates will be in place for animated episodes that were greenlit after December 9, 2024. Animation writers will also receive residuals for AVOD and SVOD reuse (2% and 1.2% of accountable receipts, respectively);
- PBS will abide by the terms and protections won in the 2023 MBA on Artificial Intelligence;
- Live action programs over 8 minutes that are made for new media, with budgets that are similar to PBS’s made-for-TV national programs, will have full WGA terms. Additionally, live action programs over 8 minutes that don’t have similar budgets to comparable national TV programs will have negotiable rates and residuals, but will be covered by other WGA terms like union security, credits, AI protections, written contracts with defined terms, pension and health contributions, etc.;
- Live action programs shown on PBS internet platforms (i.e.: Passport) outside of their broadcast license now pay 20% of the minimum for the first three-year out-of-license use period (up from 17.5%) and 15% of the minimum for additional internet use after that (up from 12.5%).
- Reuse on AVOD (Advertising-based Video on Demand) platforms now pays 2% of gross receipts to the credited writer(s) (up from 1.2%).
“This historic contract is the result of the strength and solidarity shown by our fellow PBS writers, the members of the Writers Guild of America, and the animation writing community,” The WGA-PBS bargaining committee said. “With the support of the dedicated WGA East staff, we were able to secure a deal that provides key protections for all PBS writers. At a time when the mission of public television is more important than ever, we look forward to working with the stations to continue creating programs that inform, educate, and inspire.”
PREVIOUSLY, November 22: The Writers Guild of America has a tentative three-year deal with PBS member stations.
The union announced the new Public Television Freelance Agreement Friday, hours after the current contract expiration, which could have led to a strike if the parties hadn’t been able to hammer out a new one in time. Earlier this week, the 94-member bargaining unit authorized a strike.
Now, the unit will vote to ratify the new agreement. More specific deal points are expected in the coming days, prior to that vote.
For the first time, the WGA says it was able to secure union protections for PBS animation writers, who were previously not covered under the Public Television Freelance Agreement. This week, Deadline revealed that more than 200 PBS animation writers signed a pledge of solidarity, promising not to cross their colleagues’ picket line.
The latest contract also includes paid parental leave, AI protections, expanded union protections for made-for-new-media programs, increased residual payments for reuse on streaming services, industry-standard raises, and easier paths for members of writing teams to access health coverage, according to the union.
“THIRTEEN, GBH, and PBS SoCal are pleased to have reached an agreement with WGA East,” the member stations said in a joint statement Friday. “We look forward to continuing our work to deliver trusted public media to our audiences.”