SAG-AFTRA announces 2026 talk resumption date with AMPTP

SAG-AFTRA is preparing to negotiate with studios and streaming services again later this month.

The actors union announced on Monday that discussions with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers are set to continue on April 27.

Just like the initial negotiation rounds, both parties will proceed under a media blackout.

Negotiations between SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP started in February but took a break a little over a month later to allow for the WGA talks, which surprisingly reached a tentative agreement with the studios this weekend.

Originally, SAG-AFTRA was to resume negotiations in June. However, with the writers finishing earlier than anticipated and the DGA scheduled to start their talks on May 11, an earlier discussion became possible.

It remains to be seen if SAG-AFTRA can reach an agreement before the DGA, led by Christopher Nolan, begins their negotiations. Both current agreements are set to expire on June 30.

During the weekend, the guild of writers approved a one-year extension to their contract that, pending ratification, would extend the deal to four years.

Previously, it was noted that extending contracts was central to AMPTP’s negotiation approach with the top-tier unions.

The studios and streaming platforms planned to boost the unions' underfunded health plans in exchange for an extended contract.

While the writers faced the most challenges, both the SAG-AFTRA and DGA funds are also operating with deficits.

However, it seems there's still a standstill between AMPTP and SAG-AFTRA on this issue.

Sources indicate that SAG-AFTRA’s lead negotiator, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, emphasised the necessity for solid AI protections to agree on an extended contract, and no consensus was reached before the deadline.

Although new SAG-AFTRA President Sean Astin campaigned to tackle several key issues from the 2023 strikes, including AI protections, he largely refrained from discussing specific priorities during a conversation with Deadline before his union's talks with the AMPTP.

“Hopefully we’ll conduct these negotiations in a way that aligns with the industry's needs,” he commented then.