Writers' strike drags on for 100 days with no end on the horizon
Charley Gallay/Getty Images News
It's been 100 days since writers took to the streets to protest major studios' refusal to meet their demands for higher pay and better working conditions, and it looks like there is no end in sight. 
The milestone is concerning, seeing as the last writers' strike in 2007 cost California's economy ~$2.1B in losses, according to Milken Institute.
Todd Holmes, a Cal State Northridge professor, has estimated that this year's strike may have cost the state's economy at least $3B so far. He warned that this could rise to $4B-$5B if the strike drags on till October.
Even as actors joined writers on the picket lines in a historic double strike, it looks like the shutdown could go on for longer as neither side seems willing to back down. 
Writers have repeatedly said it is increasingly difficult to earn a living wage as T.V. series on streaming platforms have fewer episodes, meaning less work and pay. Another cause for concern is AI. 
While major studios are prepared to discuss AI guardrails, they're reportedly unwilling to meet major demands including streaming revenue sharing. 
"The refusal to take writers' proposals seriously has caused the strike to last 100 days and counting; it serves only as a milestone of shame for the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers," said Chris Keyser and David Goodman, co-chairs of the writers guild's negotiating committee.
AMPTP represents major studios including Amazon (AMZN), Apple (AAPL), Disney (DIS), NBCUniversal (CMCSA), Netflix (NFLX), Paramount (PARA), Sony (SONY) and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD).
"This strike has hurt thousands of people in the industry," said AMPTP last week. "Our only playbook is getting people back to work."
"We are in some uncharted waters," Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) CEO David Zaslav said on an earnings call, saying the strike will likely impact the remainder of its film slate. If the strike runs through year-end, he expects "several hundred million dollars of incremental upside to our free cash flow guidance." 
Note that 39 independent productions, not tied to AMPTP firms, have been cleared to shoot during the strike after agreeing to demands.
For now, Netflix (NFLX) appears best positioned to weather the strike's impact. "Content for the next 12 months is mostly ready; it has significant production capabilities outside Hollywood; and it's the only company that isn't bleeding cash." said SA analyst Yuval Rotem.
More on the Hollywood strike

Hollywood studios offered actors $1B in compensation, benefits before strike
Hollywood actors go on strike, setting up historic entertainment shutdown
AMC: Barbenheimer, Strikes, And The Future Of Moviegoing