Cycle lengths are four weeks, 30 days, eight weeks or one year, rather than the 13 weeks more common in linear media. Once again, MPUs, applicability and use fees also vary by type. Session fees are not credited, there are no holding fees, and the MPU is one year. One result of the new flexibility: If an advertiser is making a spot intended for digital use, there are now five separate options to choose from — three traditional and two ACS the third ACS option, Upfront Full, would be overkill for a digital-only ad.
The ACS treats edits and exclusivity somewhat differently from the traditional approach. The entire ACS is nicely summarized in a series of charts prepared by advertising law attorney Brian G. Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day. With most of the world under mandatory stay-at-home orders by various government authorities, agencies and advertisers are struggling to produce commercials live on set.
Under the temporary waiver, SAG-AFTRA will refrain from actively enforcing its interpretation of Section 7 and claiming that union payments are due to individuals shown in stock footage used in commercials, subject to the following conditions:. As a final important caveat, although SAG-AFTRA has agreed not to actively seek to enforce its interpretation of Section 7 under this waiver, and will not search out or solicit claims for payment by talent, it reserves the right to pursue claims for payment on behalf of individuals who appear in the stock footage who independently approach the Union to pursue a claim for payment.
It is important to note that the new waiver is optional. Daniel Goldberg. Dorian Thomas. Elliott Siebers. Frances Jensen. Greg Boyd. Hannah Taylor. Harwayne Leitner. Jeff Greenbaum. Jeffrey Marks. Jennifer Batista.
Jeremy Goldman. Jessica Carballo. Jordyn Eisenpress. Kelly O'Donnell. Maria Nava. Matt Vittone. Rachel Santori. Rayna Lopyan. Rick Kurnit. Sean Kane. Terri Seligman. Tricia Legittino. Tyler Maulsby. Wendy Schechter.
Brian Murphy. April 28, This chart summarizes the key details for each bundle: Internet Options Galore With the introduction of the ACS, a signatory agency or advertiser has five different options when producing spots made for digital use, as shown in this chart: At the outset, it is important to note that three of the five options are available only to signatory brands and advertising agencies - and not to non-signatories that rely on third party signatory companies to produce union spots.
Here are the details: The ACS provide several examples aimed at providing guidance as to the types of changes that will result in an edit falling in the Unpermitted Edits category. Two observations here: First, if you change the commercial message , the edit will constitute a new commercial.
More posts by Brian Murphy. The MOA includes three changes that loosen, ever so slightly, the reigns on editing, including the addition of a new "lift.
This means that the first version is "free," and each of the second and third versions requires payment of a session fee. Second, when a producer creates different versions of a commercial to show different product packaging, the producer is now allowed to air the different versions in the same market. Previously, the different versions could only be used in different markets. Third, the period of time that you can use a version of a spot that includes a special offer or promotion under Section K has been extended from two to six weeks.
Over-the-Top - "You down with O. Yeah you know me. Use of commercials on over-the-top "OTT" platforms such as Hulu is now included in internet use. In the MOA, there are a bunch of developments with waivers, the savior and hero to many a signatory. This is great news. With this expansion, this waiver becomes an attractive option for producing content that has a short shelf-life but that needs to be used across all digital platforms.
Second, the waivers for "Live Event," "Person on the Street," and "Hidden Camera" are now officially and permanently part of the main agreement. In addition, it is no longer a condition of these waivers that producers furnish to the union copies of spots using this waiver; instead, producers merely must make the spots available to the union upon request.
And, the contract clarifies that any interviewer who is hired for "Person on the Street" and "Hidden Camera" commercials can be downgraded or outgraded, if permitted under Section 27 of the main contract. Third, a new "hardship" waiver has been added to the menu that allows JPC authorizers but not direct signatories - see section 12 below to request waivers "in the event of a hardship e. What will the union accept as a "hardship"? What proof will the agency have to furnish?
Will the waiver be granted on a production-by-production basis, or will an agency be able to get a blanket waiver that will apply across the board to all productions for a particular "hardship" client? Will the waiver be complete, or will there be some caveats? The contours of this waiver will be revealed with time. Digital Use of Expired Spots - "This is the end. The MOA includes two different provisions that that close the Doors to liability to a certain extent when spots remain up on social media and YouTube after usage rights have expired.
Social Media: The MOA provides that the continued use of a spot on social media excluding YouTube after the expiration of the MPU will not trigger a payment obligation, provided that the commercial "is not relevant to any current campaign and remains in the feed tied to its original posting date," and the commercial is removed upon notice from the union. This tracks language that was included in the Low Budget Digital waiver.
This is another welcome clarification and is consistent with an emerging standard in the industry. The performer can negotiate for a higher cap up front should she be so inclined. Claims arising from the continued use of commercials in some dusty corner of YouTube have been a recurring issue for producers, and the wage amounts can be huge, especially when the cast is large.
So, while the addition of the cap is helpful, a reasonable question remains: where the use in question was inadvertent as it often is , and if the brand can prove that the number of people who viewed the spot was negligible which is often the case , are even these capped amounts commensurate with the injury to the performers from the unauthorized use? The Commercials Contract has been amended to clarify that payment obligations to performers are not triggered when a commercial is used in "soft news" and when the spots are shared with all publications not merely trade pubs for publicity purposes.
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