Nickelodeon has agreed to “commonsense” AI protections for voice actors on animated shows like The Patrick Star Show and Dora the Explorer, according to performers’ union SAG-AFTRA.
The union announced on Wednesday that it had reached a tentative deal with Nickelodeon over voice acting on animated programs for basic cable and Paramount+. With covered projects including Rugrats, The Loud House, Kamp Koral and Rock Paper Scissors, the three-year provisional contract also brings some rate increases, a new premium and faster payment due dates.
The union’s national board is set to vote on whether to ratify the contract in July.
“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,” said SAG-AFTRA national executive director and chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland in a statement.
The Hollywood Reporter has reached out to Nickelodeon for comment.
The AI provisions in the Nickelodeon agreement borrow from protections previously negotiated in SAG-AFTRA’s separate TV animation contracts in 2023. For instance, the Nickelodeon deal defines the term “voice actor” as applying only to humans and offers animation-specific guidelines for recognizing a performer in a digital replica (in the agreement, recognizability triggers certain protections).
Given that actors in animation can voice multiple characters (think Nancy Cartwright playing both Bart Simpson and Ralph Wiggum on The Simpsons), the deal states that actors need only be identified as helping to create the replica through business documents in the case of employment-based digital replicas. Meanwhile, only their character voices need to be recognizable in the case of independently-created digital replicas.
Other changes allow for performers to receive residuals if their voice is digitally transformed into a foreign language and require the union and producers to meet for “regular” meetings about the use of artificial intelligence in the workplace.
SAG-AFTRA moreover touts increased legacy, interstitial and promo tag rates for its members and a new 25 percent premium for “multitracking/sweetening,” or when audio tracks are layered. Payments due dates have also been moved up five days.
“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,” Nickelodeon Animation Agreement negotiating committee chair David Joliffe said in a statement. “There’s much to celebrate about this deal and we look forward to sending it to the Board for review.”
