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The tentative deal to end the Hollywood writers’ strike after nearly five months will be welcome news for several sports-related companies and networks.
TBS and TNT parent Warner Bros. Discovery previously projected a $300 million to $500 million hit in annual adjusted earnings due to the Hollywood strikes. French billionaire Francois-Henri Pinault recently completed his $7 billion acquisition of Creative Artists Agency — one of the largest agencies representing both athletes and Hollywood personnel — and can now begin to approach full operations.
Late-night talk shows, which for decades have been an active promotional spot for sports figures, could return to new episodes in a matter of days and be among the first affected programs back on the air.
The agreement between the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers is still subject to formal ratification. A separate but related strike by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federal of Television and Radio Artists remains in effect.
The pact “was made possible by the enduring solidarity of WGA members and extraordinary support of our union siblings who joined us on the picket lines for over 146 days,” the guild said.
MLB, NFL, and NHL players unions and individual athletes actively supported the writers’ push for improved compensation and job protections amid the rise of artificial intelligence. The new deal would reopen crucial revenue streams for media companies and agencies that also rely on scripted entertainment in addition to their sports operations.
During the tandem strikes — Hollywood’s first since 1960 — networks have also increasingly leaned on live sports to help fill programming holes. That is expected to continue, particularly while the actors’ strike is still ongoing and writers begin to ramp up production on myriad projects.
Several companies with extensive sports media ties also saw stocks rise in initial Monday trading, including Amazon, Apple, and Netflix.
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