[ad_1]
Barry Diller, Chairman and CEO, IAC/InterActiveCorp.
Scott Eiles | bloomberg | Getty Images
Failure to resolve the double whammy of Hollywood’s writers’ and screen actors’ unions will have “devastating implications if not settled soon”. IAC And Expedia Chairman Barry Deller said in an interview on CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday.
Deller, ex Paramount Pictures CEO, anticipate a domino effect should the double whammy not resolve quickly.
Related investment news
“These conditions have the potential to lead to the absolute collapse of an entire industry,” he said.
Diller predicted that if studio executives and syndicates could not reach an agreement for several more months, there would be fewer programs for consumers to watch, which would cancel broadcast subscriptions and reduce entertainment industry revenue. This means that by the time the strikes are settled, there will not be enough money to increase the programs back up.
Read more: The media industry is in turmoil, and that isn’t going to change anytime soon
But Diller said a settlement soon seems unlikely, because “there is no trust between the two parties.”
He cited “existential issues” including the rise of artificial intelligence, which unions said they wanted input on how to use it, as well as wage differentials between the highest and lowest earners in the industry.
To ease this disparity, Diller said, the studio’s top executives and the highest-paid actors could take a 25% pay cut “as a goodwill measure” to try “to narrow the difference between those who are highly paid and those who are not.”
He also suggested that there should be a “settlement deadline” of September 1st.
Diller spoke specifically about artificial intelligence in the interview, which he called “overhyped to death” in terms of its impact on the careers of writers and screen actors.
“Writers will be helped, not replaced,” Diller said. “Most of these are crafts, I don’t think they’re at risk from AI.”
Diller is more concerned about the impact of AI on the publishing industry, foreshadowing a potential lawsuit with a group of “leading publishers,” though he declined to go into specifics, including when a complaint might be filed.
Diller said that leading companies in the field of artificial intelligence Google And Microsoft “You want to find a solution for publishers.”
But, he added, “The problem is that they also say the fair use doctrine of copyright law allows them to suck all that stuff in. We on the publishing side don’t agree with that.”
Microsoft declined to comment and Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Diller said that AI companies must come up with a fair business model before they can accommodate publishers’ copyrighted work. He said the situation is similar to the decision of publishers to offer free access to material on the Internet during its early days, while relying on advertising revenue.
“It took 15 years to get back to the paywall that protected publishers,” Diller said.
“I think litigation will hopefully lead to reasonable legislation here,” he said. “Unless you protect by copyright, everything is lost.”
WATCH: Some Hollywood executives reportedly say they’d let amazing writers “go bankrupt”
[ad_2]
