Writers received less in streaming residuals in 2025 than they did the year before, amid a downturn in the once-robust streaming market for old movies and TV shows.

Writers took in $330.7 million in streaming residuals last year, down from $346.6 million in 2024, marking the first ever nominal decline, according to a report issued in July by the Writers Guild of America.

Residuals in other categories — network reruns, basic cable reruns, foreign TV, home video, etc. — have been on a downward slide since streaming took hold more than a decade ago. But until recently, streaming residuals — particularly from shows and movies licensed to streaming platforms — had been rising quickly to make up the difference.

But total residuals reached a peak in 2022, adjusted for inflation, and have since fallen 18% to $535.5 million last year. Revenue from licensing of shows and films to streaming platforms has softened amid a general industry downturn over the past few years, while other categories of residuals have continued their longer downward trend.

The one bright spot has been residuals for shows made for streaming platforms, which grew to $77.8 million in 2025.

Streaming residuals were a key issue for both writers and actors during the 2023 strike, as workers argued that streaming platforms had broken the traditional TV model and deprived them of income needed to survive in an uncertain industry.

Despite those changes, “made for streaming” residuals have grown at a slower rate after the strike than they did before, according to the WGA report. “Made for streaming” residuals grew 38% per year from 2020-23, and 13% per year since then, adjusted for inflation.

Residuals represent a snapshot of the secondary market for movies and TV shows. The WGA data reveals two major disruptions: a technological transformation beginning around 2015, when home viewership shifted heavily to streaming, and then a decline in demand after 2022 as streaming platforms reached maturity.

Since then, platforms also reined in spending on new shows and movies, leaving fewer writers employed. According to the WGA data, writers’ total up-front earnings have fallen 24.5% since 2022, adjusted for inflation, while the number of writers reporting earnings has plummeted 27%.

“It is clear that the contraction continues to have an impact on the industry and the number of jobs remains significantly lower than in the peak years of 2022 and before, as a result of the companies’ pullback in scripted programming after years of overspending,” the WGA said in its report.

The decline in spending has coincided with an increase in profits and streaming revenues, according to an earlier WGA report. In February, the union reported that industry profits were beginning to grow again after a sharp downturn in 2022, and that global streaming revenues were projected to increase from $78 billion in 2024 to $88 billion in 2025.

Members of other industry unions also get residuals, either directly — for SAG-AFTRA and the Directors Guild of America — or in the form of contributions to their pension and health funds, for IATSE and other below-the-line unions.

The residual formulas for the different guilds are closely related, though the WGA is the only one that releases data.