I don’t keep ongoing pay subscriptions to streaming services. Not a judgment of those who do; just my personal preference. I’ve done one month of Disney+ at a deep discount (to see season one of The Mandalorian) and two months of Paramount+, both times in the past. With Lower Decks’ upcoming 4th season and SNW’s “Those Old Scientists,” I’ve been thinking about subbing to Paramount+ again. However, with the WGA/SAG-AFTRA strike, I’ve been wondering if not subscribing to Paramount+ would be in support of the strike.
From what I’ve found, the WGA and SAG-AFTRA are not currently calling for not subscribing to, or cancelling subscriptions to, streaming services.
Actor John Carroll Lynch on Twitter on July 18, 2023, quote of part of his video (he had previously called for cancelling streaming service subs):
https://twitter.com/MrJCLynch/status/1681324518806278144?ref_src=twsrc^tfw
“I still think it’s a good idea, but I’ve been informed by the union that they do not require that and they don’t want that. I don’t know why — something to do with the negotiations that I don’t agree with, but I do follow the union recommendations, because that’s what this is all about.”
On Tumblr, author Neil Gaiman replied to a question about cancelling streaming service subscriptions to support the strike. July 12, 2023:
"The WGA has not called for anyone to boycott any of the streamers or to stop their streaming services yet. It’s not “crossing the picket line” to watch something on a network that we are striking against. (“Crossing a picket line” is a very real, specific thing with a real meaning.)
I’ve seen it being discussed, but until the WGA calls for it, I don’t suggest doing it."
Mr. Gaiman’s Tumblr response also has a link to a June, 2023 L. A. Times column, “Column: Is it time to boycott Netflix? How streaming consumers could shape the strike” which I’m posting here because sometimes links to online pages are ephemeral.
So, okay Paramount+. You’ll soon be getting some quatloos from me.
The best way to support the writers and actors is to pay for and consume the shows and films they were paid to make.
If the studios find people are skipping out on scripted content, why would they be motivated to resolve the strike?
That would be my viewpoint if streamers hadn’t started disappearing shows from their platforms. Disney+ did that to a number of shows, and there’s Paramount+'s treatment of Prodigy. The streaming platforms are for-profit businesses, but with the opacity of providing information as to what constitutes enough views for the money, it’s messy. So, I’m going to go with the WGA/SAG-AFTRA recommendation, which for now is to not cancel subscriptions.
Yeah, I don’t think our positions are actually different.
If you subscribe to streamers to access scripted content, you should keep doing that.
If, as with Prodigy, it’s possible to purchase that content another way, that’s also a good thing.
Either way, it’s sending the message that the demand is there.
Michelle Hurd (Raffi on Picard) is the LA Vice-President of SAG-AFTRA.
She’s on the record as well saying that they’re not yet calling for a boycott of streamers.
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Right on.
From what I could gather, the WGA/SAG-AFTRA hasn’t called for a cancellation of streaming subs because they are using that to support their call for better pay and protections in that arena. I’m not fully cognizant of the rationale. And, I know nothing about torrenting. That’s not a request to learn. I’ve got a long list of things I still want to learn, and I’d never get to it.
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The only issue I can imagine with that is the reliance on a significant number of streaming subscribers being willing to cancel their subs. It’s easy for me to go with not subscribing. Because I already don’t regularly subscribe to streaming services. Easy, outside of then having to wait for physical media edition of LD season 4. But, there are folks who really like their streaming subs on the regular, and that may be a bridge too far for some who otherwise support the strike.
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