LOS ANGELES (May 7, 2025)—Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) and Nickelodeon have reached a tentative agreement on terms for their 2025 SAG-AFTRA/Nickelodeon Animation Studios, Inc. Basic Cable Television Animation Agreement (“Nickelodeon Animation Agreement”).
The Nickelodeon Animation Agreement is the contract covering animated programs for Nickelodeon basic cable and Paramount+ (The Loud House, Patrick Star Show, Kamp Koral, Rock Paper Scissors, Rugrats, Dora the Explorer, etc.).
SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director & Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said, “I’d like to thank our hardworking negotiating committee for their dedication to their colleagues who provide their voice artistry to Nickelodeon’s programming. I’m especially pleased that Nickelodeon agreed to commonsense A.I. protections for voice actors.”
Chair of SAG-AFTRA’s Nickelodeon Animation Agreement Negotiating Committee David Jolliffe said, “We’re thrilled that productive bargaining has resulted in a very strong contract for voice actors that includes A.I. guideline enhancements that protect voice performers. There’s much to celebrate about this deal and we look forward to sending it to the Board for review.”
Among the highlights of the contract are:
- Pay increases worth over $3.25 million dollars in instant gains for members.
- Retained higher Legacy rates.
- Increased rates for Interstitials.
- Increased promo tag rate to $93 per tag.
- Special allocation of Health and Retirement contributions increase 75% to Health, 25% to Retirement.
- New 25% premium for multitracking/sweetening.
- Incorporate the updated Television Animation Agreement Made For New Media Sideletter, which includes 2023 SVOD budgets for animation, SVOD residuals improvements, a Success Bonus, new AVOD terms.
- Increased clip use payments.
- Payment due date moved up to 5 business days.
- Substantial artificial intelligence protections and gains for voice actors from the Television Animation Agreement, that will automatically conform to any updated provisions secured in upcoming negotiations on that contract. These A.I. protections include:
- Specific language acknowledging that the term “voice actors” includes only humans and that acknowledges the importance of human voice acting.
- Removal of the requirement that a digital replica must exclusively sound like the recognizable natural voice of an actor in order to be protected.
- Language specifying that “employment-based digital replicas” need only be recognized and identifiable via contracts and other regular business documents, confirming that it was in fact the performer’s voice used to make the replica.
- Language specifying that “independently created digital replicas” need only sound like the “character voice” from which the replica was created.
- Confirmation that if the voice actor’s performance is digitally altered into a foreign language, the voice actor shall be eligible for residuals based on the distribution of the foreign language version.
- Language clarifying that when prompting a generative artificial intelligence system with a performer name or names, consent of those performers is required. The contract has removed the requirement, which exists in live action, that a “major facial feature” be included in the prompt with no substitute for that criterion.
- The establishment of regular, mandatory artificial intelligence meetings with producers, which will include discussion of methods and systems to track the use of digital replicas.
The 2025 SAG-AFTRA/Nickelodeon Animation Studios, Inc. Basic Cable Television Animation Agreement is a three-year contract that will be considered for ratification by SAG-AFTRA’s National Board.