(Bloomberg) -- The Screen Actors Guild, which shut down Hollywood last year in a fight over pay from streaming companies, is taking a trust-but-verify approach to its new contract with the studios.

The union will pay the TV ratings company Nielsen Co. for audience data to help judge what its members should be paid for hit shows on streaming services.

Nielsen will provide the union, which represents about 160,000 members, with viewer data for shows on all of the major online platforms in the US, according to the parties. The guild will use that to verify information they receive from companies such as Netflix Inc. and Walt Disney Co.. 

The union went on strike for several months last year seeking higher compensation from streaming services. Greater data transparency was a key part of the negotiations. The studios have long kept their audience data hidden from the public and their business partners. 

Under new contracts with actors and writers, the services agreed to turn over viewer data. The companies will pay additional residuals to participants in their biggest hits. Writers and actors on shows that are seen by at least 20% of a streaming service’s domestic audience will be paid more.

The guild is looking to double-check the data they get from studios, believing a second source will help them confirm the studios are being honest about what is a hit and what isn’t. It will also help the guild offer data to its members to help explain why certain projects are or aren’t eligible for additional payments.

In the past, the guild relied too heavily on data provided by employers, David Viviano, the union’s chief economist, said in an interview. “Wherever possible, we want to inform that by other data sources.”

Viviano met with several data providers in recent months and deemed Nielsen’s the best. The company releases weekly updates on the most popular shows on streaming to the public and provides far more detailed information to its paying clients, including demographic information on viewers.

SAG estimates that 5% to 10% of shows will qualify for this new bonus.

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.