"It is my belief that this agreement represents a landmark gain in the Guild's long fight to cover basic cable sports programming," said DGA President Michael Apted. "I am sure that you join me in congratulating our Staff and Councils for this victory."
Some details of the deal include:
- ESPN-produced sporting events that air on ABC along with the pre-, post-, and half-time shows related to these events will be covered under the DGA agreement with ABC. These events include NFL, NBA, and NHL games; horse racing; car racing; NCAA basketball; and NCAA football.
- Coverage of sporting events that have been produced by ABC for air on both ABC and ESPN (including the ESPN portion) will continue to be covered by the DGA-ABC agreement where the proportion of games air on ABC continues to be no less than that broadcast on ABC during the 2004 season. Examples include golf tournaments, the Little League World Series, and ice-skating.
The Agreement does not cover ESPN-produced sporting events that air on ESPN, nor certain ESPN sporting events that have traditionally been produced by ESPN for air on ESPN but occasionally air on ABC, such as the X games, Great Outdoor Games and skiing. Nevertheless ABC staff employees assigned to such programming will continue to be covered by DGA Agreements and ABC Freelance employees under PSAs will receive Pension and Health benefits on their salary. In return, the DGA has agreed to no longer discipline members who work for ESPN on non-covered ESPN sports programs (including sports reality programs and sports news programs) during the term of the Agreement. (DGA members are still prohibiting from working on ESPN-produced entertainment programs unless the program is covered by a collective bargaining agreement.) The agreement runs from July 15, 2005 to June 30, 2011.
If you have any question regarding the ESPN Agreement, contact DGA Offices in New York (212-581-0370) or DGA Assistant Executive Director Rodney Mitchell in Los Angeles (310-289-2009).
