Agencies and Producers Launch American Entertainment Alliance
CAA, WME, UTA and producers including Blumhouse and Imagine form a coalition seeking legislation to direct half of studio original content budgets to indie production.
A coalition of talent agencies and independent producers has launched the American Entertainment Alliance, a group formed to promote U.S. independent production and to press for legislation that would require major studios and streamers to allocate half of their original content budgets to indie production, according to the New York Times, which first reported the alliance.
Founding members include the agencies CAA, WME and UTA, along with Anonymous Content, Blumhouse, Imagine Entertainment, Legendary Entertainment, MRC, North Road, Producers United, Propagate Content and the law firm Ziffren Brittenham. Imagine Entertainment co-founders Ron Howard and Brian Grazer, North Road head Peter Chernin and Jeff Sagansky are among the founding members.
UTA said on Instagram that studio consolidation and streaming have narrowed the market for independent content. UTA Vice Chair Jay Sures is among the figures behind the effort.
The alliance said it will advocate for modern creative ownership rules reflecting today's streaming marketplace, alongside its push for the content-budget requirement.
Industry backdrop
The launch comes as the $110-billion merger of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery closed last week. Skydance, the company now known by that name, made commitments to the indie space in a settlement with a group of attorneys general who sued to block the merger.
In recent years the number of original television series has fallen sharply from the period known as peak TV. Last month, key legislation was introduced providing the first ever federal tax credit for U.S. production.
Quick answers
What is the American Entertainment Alliance?
A coalition of talent agencies and independent producers formed to promote U.S. independent production and to push for legislation requiring major studios and streamers to spend half of their original content budgets on indie production.
Who are the founding members?
CAA, WME, UTA, Anonymous Content, Blumhouse, Imagine Entertainment, Legendary Entertainment, MRC, North Road, Producers United, Propagate Content and Ziffren Brittenham.
What rules will the alliance advocate for?
It will push for modern creative ownership rules reflecting today's streaming marketplace, along with the requirement that half of original content budgets go to indie production.