WGA President Calls on Netflix, Comcast Shareholders to Reject Executive Pay Packages

The Writers Guild of America is opening up a new front against the studios as its strike continues, as WGA West President Meredith Stiehm sent an open letter to Netflix and Comcast shareholders calling on them to reject the pay packages for those companies’ top executives that are up for a vote.

Netflix is set to have its annual shareholders meeting Thursday (June 1), with Comcast, parent company of NBCUniversal, holding its shareholder meeting on June 7. Over the past month, the WGA has made studio CEOs a major target in its strike, releasing infographics that outline the combined $773 million in pay received by the top executives at Hollywood legacy and streaming studios, including Netflix former co-CEO and current executive chairman Reed Hastings ($40.8 million) and co-CEO Ted Sarandos ($38.2 million) and Comcast CEO Brian Roberts ($30 million).

“Approval of this compensation package is inappropriate in light of the ongoing WGA writers’ strike and the associated risks that Comcast executives are creating for investors,” Stiehm wrote to Comcast shareholders. “Shareholders should send a message to Comcast that if the company could afford to spend $130 million on executive compensation last year, it can afford to pay the estimated $34 million per year that writers are asking for in contract improvements and put an end to this disruptive strike.”

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Since the WGA strike began at the start of May, the guild has moved beyond picket lines in front of studios in order to dial up the pressure on studios to return to the negotiating table. Among its most effective tactics has been a grassroots network among members to identify productions that are still running during the strike and shut them down with picket lines.

Those production shutdowns were also noted in Stiehm’s letters.

“Netflix’s content pipeline has been blocked, with dozens of projects that were in development or ordered to series as of May 1st unable to move forward until WGA negotiations conclude,” Stiehm wrote to Netflix shareholders. “A delay in the writing, production, and release of new content may impact Netflix’s ability to attract and retain subscribers and viewers just as the company asks customers to watch advertising and pay more for its content.”

Insiders on both sides of the strike say they are not expecting studios and the WGA to resume negotiations until July at the earliest, as contract negotiations are still ongoing with the Directors Guild of America while SAG-AFTRA is set to begin talks on June 7.

Read the full letter from Stiehm below:

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Netflix:

Re: Vote Against “Say-on-Pay” at Netflix Inc. Annual Shareholder Meeting Dear Netflix Shareholder:

As you prepare for Netflix’s annual shareholders meeting on June 1st, on behalf of writers represented by the Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW), I urge you to vote against Proposal 3, the company’s proposal for advisory approval of Named Executive Officer compensation. Approval of this compensation package is inappropriate in light of the ongoing WGA writers’ strike and the associated risks that Netflix executives are creating for investors. Shareholders should send a message to Netflix that if the company could afford to spend $166 million on executive compensation last year, it can afford to pay the estimated $68 million per year that writers are asking for in contract improvements and put an end to the disruptive strike.

On May 2nd, over 11,500 film and television writers represented by the WGA went on strike after Netflix and other media companies represented in negotiations by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) refused to negotiate an agreement that fairly compensates the writers who create their films and TV series. In the face of an unprecedented decline in compensation and the erosion of working conditions that have resulted from the business practices of streaming companies, writers are demanding to be paid fairly for the tremendous value they create for profitable media companies like Netflix.

Since May 2nd, the writers’ strike and support from other Hollywood unions have disrupted writing and/or production on numerous Netflix series including Stranger Things and Cobra Kai. Netflix’s content pipeline has been blocked, with dozens of projects that were in development or ordered to series as of May 1st unable to move forward until WGA negotiations conclude.

This disruption of content creation is of particular concern given Netflix’s recent rollout of advertising supported subscription tiers and its crackdown on password sharing in the U.S. and other major markets. A delay in the writing, production, and release of new content may impact Netflix’s ability to attract and retain subscribers and viewers just as the company asks customers to watch advertising and pay more for its content.

While investors have long taken issue with Netflix’s executive pay, the compensation structure is even more egregious against the backdrop of the strike. In the midst of a disruptive labor dispute, Netflix is asking shareholders to give retroactive advisory approval of the company’s 2022 reported executive compensation totaling over $166 million. By contrast, the proposed improvements the WGA currently has on the table would cost Netflix an estimated $68 million per year. I urge you to vote against Proposal 3 and encourage Netflix to put an end to the disruptive strike.

Sincerely,

Meredith Stiehm

Comcast:

Re: Vote Against “Say-on-Pay” at Comcast Corporation Annual Shareholder Meeting Dear Comcast Shareholder,

As you prepare for Comcast’s annual shareholders meeting on June 7th, on behalf of writers represented by the Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW), I urge you to vote against Proposal 5, the company’s proposal for advisory approval of executive compensation. Approval of this compensation package is inappropriate in light of the ongoing WGA writers’ strike and the associated risks that Comcast executives are creating for investors. Shareholders should send a message to Comcast that if the company could afford to spend $130 million on executive compensation last year, it can afford to pay the estimated $34 million per year that writers are asking for in contract improvements and put an end to this disruptive strike.

On May 2nd, over 11,500 film and television writers represented by the WGA went on strike after Comcast and other media companies represented in negotiations by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) refused to negotiate an agreement that fairly compensates the writers who create their films and TV series. In the face of an unprecedented decline in compensation and the erosion of working conditions that have resulted from the business practices of streaming companies, writers are demanding to be paid fairly for the tremendous value they create for profitable media companies like Comcast.

Since May 2nd, the writers’ strike and support from other Hollywood unions have disrupted writing and/or production on numerous NBCUniversal series, including Dick Wolf’s Chicago franchise, Law & Order, and Law & Order: SVU. The strike’s impact on Comcast’s broadcast lineup has a knock-on effect for its streaming business which relies on a steady flow of new broadcast episodes to populate its platform the day after episodes air on TV. In fact, Peacock gets roughly twice as many new scripted, WGA-covered episodes from in-season NBC content as it does from Peacock’s originals slate.

This disruption of content creation is of particular concern given Comcast’s plans to start charging Xfinity users for Peacock next month.1 A delay in the writing, production, and release of new original content may impact Comcast’s ability to maintain existing Peacock viewers, some of whom, for the first time, will have to decide whether the service’s content is worth paying for.

In the midst of the strikes’ disruption, Comcast is asking shareholders to give retroactive advisory approval of the company’s 2022 reported executive compensation totaling over $130 million. By contrast, the proposed improvements the WGA currently has on the table would cost Comcast an estimated $34 million per year. I urge you to vote against Proposal 5 and encourage Comcast to put an end to the disruptive strike.

Sincerely,

Meredith Stiehm

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