Corrections to the Second Edition
Everyone makes mistakes (even me).
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Introduction (page 1)
On the fifth line of the second paragraph, I refer to Netflix and Amazon as “major exhibits of premium content.” They are, of course, “major exhibitors.”
The author seriously regrets the error that he somehow missed on page 1, line 7 of the entire book.
Chapter 3, Section A.vi (page 119)
Starting about halfway down the page, I summarize the new (as of the 2023–26 WGA Basic Agreement) “minimum staffing” rules governing “post-greenlight” writers’ rooms on series whose first episodes were written after December 1, 2023 as follows (footnotes omitted):
(1) shows
in their first seasonsare required to employ at least three “writer/producers” (a category covering all ranks from Co-Producer to Executive Producer); (2) shows in their second or subsequent seasons are required to employ staffs of at least three writer/producersfor series orders up to six episodes, and at least five writers (including no less than three writer/producers) for orders of seven to twelve episodes (representing the lion’s share of “premium” TV production)[45]; (3) the showrunner is included in each of the foregoing counts of minimum writer/producers; (4) the minimum staff must be guaranteed at least twenty weeks of employment or the full duration of the post-greenlight room (whichever is shorter); (5) writer/producers who had been engaged for a pre-greenlight mini-room must be hired for the full writers’ room[46]; and (6) for single-camera series made for streaming or pay TV[47] that are exclusively filmed in the United States and Canada, two writer/producers in addition to the showrunner must be employed for the lesser of twenty weeks of production or the duration of production.
Item (1) on that list is wrong: there are no special terms governing minimum staffing requirements for first seasons, distinct from the terms governing subsequent seasons. To put it another way, the minimum staffing rules governing a series do not vary from season to season.
I’ve struck-through the offending language above. What remains is correct, though to provide a more complete summary of the rules, I also include here the text of footnotes 45 (appended to item (2) on the list) and 46 (appended to item (3)):
[45] The new rules also mandate that, for seasons with thirteen or more episodes (now rare outside of broadcast network television), the studio employ at least six writers (including no less than three writer/producers). In broadcast, with its standard twenty-two-episode full seasons and often more episodic (as opposed to serialized) story structure, writers’ rooms had not meaningfully declined in size or duration the way they had in cable and streaming television, and these minimums are rather easily met under prevailing norms.
[46] Weeks worked in the development room can be credited against the guaranteed weeks in the writers’ room, but development room compensation cannot be credited.
Chapter 6, Section E (pages 264–269)
Most of the numbers in the Streamlined Schedule of WGA Minimums for the 2025–26 contract year are slightly overstated due to the WGA’s election to divert 0.5% out of its 3.5% rate increase for the third contract year to instead be applied to studio contributions to the WGA’s Health Fund.
The Business of Television Max(+) subscribers can find an up-to-date Streamlined Schedule of WGA Minimums (now covering May 2, 2025 through May 1, 2026) here.
Chapter 7, Section E (pages 293–298)
The Streamlined Schedule of DGA Minimums is…a good effort. I tried very hard and spent many, many hours trying to crack it. Most of the numbers of the 2025–26 contract year are solid, but shouldn’t be relied upon because the tables as printed don’t properly take into account all of the many variations in rates depending on precise budget, platform, and production season parameters (which, in my defense, would have been exceptionally difficult for me to realize based on the materials that were publicly available at the time I submitted the manuscript).
The Business of Television Max(+) subscribers can find an up-to-date Streamlined Schedule of DGA Minimums (now covering July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026) here.
Chapter 8, Section D (pages 349–350)
The Streamlined Schedule of SAG-AFTRA Minimums is actually totally fine! It’s just going to become useless starting July 1, 2026.
The Business of Television Max(+) subscribers can find an up-to-date Streamlined Schedule of SAG-AFTRA Minimums (now covering July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026) here.
Glossary (page 583)
The definition of “stacking rights” refers to “a license agreement with a broadcast (or other linear) neatwork.” Obviously, the last word in the quoted excerpt should have been “network.”
While amusing, the author regrets this (and all other) typographical errors (but not nearly as much as he regrets the one on the first page of the Introduction).