Streamers eye a performance-based pay model for talent — mirroring old Hollywood

Hollywood’s pay model rerun… Streamers are looking to inject some more cash into must-see TV. Streaming’s current pay model, which is light on residuals and isn’t tied to popularity, compensates creatives through upfront deals. Critics have said that receiving the same pay whether or not people watch a show disincentivizes creators from taking care to make shows folks want to watch. Now Apple, Netflix, and Amazon are looking into upending that model, Bloomberg reported. In its place: an old-school approach that doles out big bonuses for the most-binged shows.

• Bonus criteria: At Apple, the talent on top shows could reportedly share a $10.5M bonus per season. Apple’s said to be considering things like minutes watched, success at driving signups, and budget relative to audience.

• Belt-tightening: Apple’s bonus will shrink for over-budget shows. As budgets soar (ahem: Prime’s $700M “Rings of Power” flop) streamers are slashing spending on labor and content. Disney’s Hulu and Disney+ posted their first profit following cost cuts.

That’s showbiz, kid… As the six months of Hollywood strikes last year showed, Tinseltown’s workforce hasn’t been thrilled with compensation. Now budgets are being cut and less content’s being greenlighted. Between August 2022 and the end of 2023, film and TV employment fell by 26%. The cast of “Blue Bloods” took a 25% pay cut to get renewed. And though unions secured hard-won streaming residuals in their contract deals, just 5% of original Netflix shows in 2022 would’ve met the high benchmark to receive them.