The 2023 Television Animation Agreement and the 2023 Basic Cable Animation Agreement will last three years and provide strong protections around the use of AI as well as a 7% wage increase that applies retroactively to July 1, 2023.
SAG-AFTRA announced Friday that members of the union have ratified the 2023 Television Animation Agreement and the 2023 Basic Cable Animation Agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). The new three-year contracts provide strong protections around the use of AI as well as a 7% wage increase that applies retroactively to July 1, 2023.
“The foundation of this agreement was based on the feedback we got from members who work these contracts, and that remained the negotiating committee’s focus throughout bargaining,” said TV Animation Negotiating Committee Co-Chairs Bob Bergen and David Jolliffe. “We are proud to have delivered an agreement that offers big wins in those areas. This is the first SAG-AFTRA animation voiceover contract with protections against the misuse of artificial intelligence.”
“This contract represents a meaningful step forward in expanding our A.I. protections,” added National Executive Director & Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland. “The contract provides important new terms in the areas of foreign residuals, high-budget SVOD productions, late payments and much more. I am gratified we were able to achieve these significant gains without the need for a work stoppage, and want to express my appreciation to our outstanding negotiating committee chairs and members, as well as lead negotiator Ray Rodriguez and the dedicated negotiating staff.”
According to Variety, while the terms for animated projects, “are largely patterned on the deal that ended the strike, there are a couple of differences. SAG-AFTRA negotiated for language declaring that animation voice actors must be human beings — a definition that was not included in the TV/Theatrical deal.”
Going forward, an actor must consent to and receive compensation for any “digital replicas” of their voice, although the training of synthetic voices with past performances is not prohibited if the voice does not resemble the actor’s.
Negotiations between SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP were delayed due to last year’s strike, and the previous contract was extended. On February 22, SAG-AFTRA announced the tentative agreement with the AMPTP.
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