Seventy-two percent of Americans are more sympathetic to the plight of television and film writers than that of television and film studios amid the strike, according to a Gallup poll released Wednesday.
That’s compared to 19 percent who felt more sympathetic toward the members of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, the group that reps major studios. Additionally, survey respondents felt more sympathetic toward television and film actors, at 67 percent, compared to 24 percent who sided with the studios.
The results come as the Writers Guild of America has been on strike since May 2 and SAG-AFTRA has been on strike since July 14. There has been no news out of the WGA and the AMPTP negotiations since the two parties resumed talks earlier on Aug. 11. On Aug. 22, studios publicly released details of their counteroffer, saying their “priority was to end the strike,” but the WGA said the offer was “neither nothing, nor nearly enough.”
SAG-AFTRA sent a message to members on Aug. 27 saying that there had not been movement in the talks. “SAG-AFTRA’s negotiating team remains ready at a moment’s notice to go back to the bargaining table to secure a righteous deal. Unfortunately, as we’ve seen from the recent news out of the WGA negotiations, it appears the AMPTP is still unwilling to make the concessions necessary to make a fair deal that would bring the strikes to a close,” the statement said.
The AMPTP has also hired a prominent Washington, D.C.-based crisis PR firm to help with its messaging.
The Gallup poll was conducted via telephone interviews in August, with a random sample of just over 1,000 adults living in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
The poll also found high continuing support for unions overall, with 67 percent of surveyed respondents approving of them, albeit down just slightly from 71 percent a year ago. However, this is the fifth straight year results for the question have been over the long-term average of 62 percent.
