New Three-Year Pacts Call For Pilot Study On Gross Ratings Points Compensation Model
The Joint Negotiating Committee of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) reached a unanimous tentative agreement early this morning (4/1) with the Joint Policy Committee (JPC) of the American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA) and the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) on terms for successor agreements to the AFTRA Television and Radio Commercials Contracts and the SAG Television Commercials Contract, subject to approval by the SAG/AFTRA Joint National Board.
The successful negotiations were concluded just hours past the March 31 expiration of the prior three-year contracts.
A key provision of the new agreements calls for a two-year pilot study, scheduled to get underway on April 15, that will test the Gross Ratings Points (GRP) model of restructuring compensation to performers as proposed by Booz & Co, a consultancy firm which was commissioned by SAG, AFTRA and the JPC back in 2006 to explore and assess alternative compensation models to deal with the changing media landscape.
The new pilot study will be conducted by a jointly retained consultant engaged by the unions and the ad industry. The results and possible adoption of that study’s findings will be subject to negotiation by the parties not later than January 3, 2012.
Other highlights of the just struck commercials contracts include:
• The unions successfully protected the “Class A” residuals payment structure and continued unchanged the editing provisions in the previous contract.
• A 5.5% overall increase in wages and other compensation over the life of the contracts, including a 4.43% increase, effective April 1, 2009, in Class A, Wild Spot, and basic cable session fees
• For product made for the Internet or in new media, 1.3 times the minimum session fee for 8 week’s use and 3.5 times the minimum session fee for one year’s use
• A 0.5% increase in the employer contribution rate to the AFTRA H&R and SAG P&H plans bringing the total contribution rate to 15.3%. The agreement provides for a cap on P&H and H&W contributions.
• And increased foreign use payments under the Spanish Language section of the contract
Formal negotiations between the AFTRA/SAG Joint Negotiating Committee and the JPC began on February 23 and concluded on the morning of April 1 in New York City.
Details of the new agreement will be submitted to the SAG/AFTRA Joint National Board for approval at a date to be determined, and if approved, will be jointly mailed to the membership of both unions for ratification.
Google Opens Its Defense In Antitrust Case Alleging Monopoly Over Online Ad Technology
Google opened its defense against allegations that it holds an illegal monopoly on online advertising technology Friday with witness testimony saying the industry is vastly more complex and competitive than portrayed by the federal government.
"The industry has been exceptionally fluid over the last 18 years," said Scott Sheffer, a vice president for global partnerships at Google, the company's first witness at its antitrust trial in federal court in Alexandria.
The Justice Department and a coalition of states contend that Google built and maintained an illegal monopoly over the technology that facilitates the buying and selling of online ads seen by consumers.
Google counters that the government's case improperly focuses on a narrow type of online ads — essentially the rectangular ones that appear on the top and on the right-hand side of a webpage. In its opening statement, Google's lawyers said the Supreme Court has warned judges against taking action when dealing with rapidly emerging technology like what Sheffer described because of the risk of error or unintended consequences.
Google says defining the market so narrowly ignores the competition it faces from social media companies, Amazon, streaming TV providers and others who offer advertisers the means to reach online consumers.
Justice Department lawyers called witnesses to testify for two weeks before resting their case Friday afternoon, detailing the ways that automated ad exchanges conduct auctions in a matter of milliseconds to determine which ads are placed in front of which consumers and how much they cost.
The department contends the auctions are finessed in subtle ways that benefit Google to the exclusion of would-be competitors and in ways that prevent... Read More