Hollywood’s New SAG-AFTRA Contract Puts AI and Streaming Rules to the Test
The SAG-AFTRA agreement covering much of U.S. film, television and streaming production is now in force, shifting the focus from what the actors union negotiated to how studios, production companies and performers apply the rules.
The four-year TV/Theatrical Agreement took effect July 1, 2026, and runs through June 30, 2030. Members ratified it June 4 by 91.42% to 8.58%, with a 19.25% return, according to SAG-AFTRA. The vote settled the contract; the current phase is implementation.
What changed for pay and streaming
The agreement raises minimum wage rates by 3% each year. The first increase began July 1, followed by increases on July 1 in 2027, 2028 and 2029. SAG-AFTRA states that the compounded increase over the full term is 12.55%.
That figure applies to minimum rates, not necessarily to every performer’s total compensation. Actual pay can vary by role, budget, platform, production category and negotiated terms.
The contract also improves selected streaming residuals. For new high-budget programs made for subscription video-on-demand services, residual ceilings rise by a total of 5.1% over three years through two 2.5% increases, scheduled for July 1, 2027, and July 1, 2029. Foreign residuals for services in the highest foreign-subscriber tier rise from a 90% to a 95% factor effective July 1, 2026.
Residuals for specified television programs, theatrical pictures exhibited on SVOD platforms and certain high-budget SVOD programs moving to a second or later domestic SVOD service rise by an average of 5%. The change applies to qualifying productions beginning principal photography on or after July 1, 2026. It can also apply to qualifying productions that began on or after July 1, 2020, when new qualifying licenses are entered into on or after September 1, 2026, or the later contract-defined date.
The Success Bonus Distribution Fund’s share of an annual SVOD residual also rises from 25% to 35%. The agreement further bars advance payment of amounts due for the Success Bonus on certain new high-budget SVOD performer contracts.
The improvements are not a single uniform streaming payment. Residual formulas differ across services, production types, budgets and licensing arrangements, so the practical effect will become clearer as productions and payments are processed.
AI use now requires a formal process
The agreement does not ban synthetic performers. Instead, it requires producers to notify SAG-AFTRA and bargain before using a synthetic, while following a defined schedule.
The contract favors human performances and says producers will not use a synthetic in a human role unless it provides “significant additional value” compared with a human performer or that performer’s digital replica. SAG-AFTRA says the union can arbitrate alleged violations and seek damages.
Digital-replica protections address a different problem: digital assets that resemble a specific person. The provisions include consent and compensation safeguards, limits on scanning, an articulable business reason for scanning, biometric-data protections and security requirements. They also address foreign-language dubbing, transfers of ownership, strike-related use and restrictions on using a minor’s replica in nude or simulated-sex performances, including through aging or de-aging.
These rules create enforceable procedures, but they do not guarantee that performers will avoid job losses or that every dispute will be resolved quickly. Their effect will depend on bargaining, production practices, arbitration and how companies interpret the contractual standards.
Benefits and working conditions
The agreement provides for an additional 1% health-plan contribution, effective on the later of July 1, 2026, or the first Sunday that is 90 days after the business day on which the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers receives notice of ratification.
It also establishes a framework for merging the SAG-Producers Pension Plan and the AFTRA Retirement Fund. SAG-AFTRA identifies January 1, 2028, as the target merger date, but the union says the process is complex and not yet complete. A merger could allow members to qualify and accrue benefits using earnings that are currently divided between two plans.
Other provisions address auditions and self-tapes. For certain roles, producers must make a good-faith effort to accommodate a performer invited to submit a self-tape who requests a virtual interview, or an in-person interview at the producer’s discretion. Performers also may not be charged to submit a headshot or reel.
What to watch next
The important evidence will come from actual contract applications: new wage tables on productions beginning under the agreement, residual payments, producer guidance and disputes over synthetic-performer use.
Progress toward the pension merger will also matter, as will any arbitration claims involving digital replicas or the “significant additional value” standard. The agreement establishes higher minimums and new guardrails, but its success will be measured by how those provisions operate on real productions—not by the ratification vote alone.
Sources
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