Like many other industries, the Motion Picture Industry is going through intense changes in the cauldron of modern U.S. culture. From film to digital, from physical media to streaming, from a sixty-foot screen in a darkened theater to a 2-inch image on a cell phone, from movie stars to superheroes, from Humphrey Bogart to Lego Batman – these five companies have their work cut out for them in a world that has devalued the theatrical experience and the once-inherent ‘specialness’ of movies themselves. All five of the companies – Sony Pictures, NBCUniversal, Viacom (who own Paramount Pictures), Disney, and Warner Bros. – have enough franchises and tentpoles to compete, but how do their employees feel about working for them? What trends are visible only from the inside? And are workers who traveled to the Dream Factory to get jobs in the movies happy with what they found? Let’s see what Comparably‘s employee-submitted reviews can tell us…
OVERALL CULTURE
The first category comes down to a photo-finish between NBCUniversal and Disney, but the former company manages to pull out a victory for Overall Culture by just one percentage point. Just the kind of result you see in the movies. Sony, Viacom, and Warner Bros. all land in the C-range, and their scores are separated by a nominal amount of points.
Sony: “Whereas some cultures are 24/7 with emails and messages, SPE is generally 9-6, M-F and there is encouragement from the top for people to set their own boundaries and prioritize their life accordingly.”
NBCUniversal: “They constantly create opportunities to improve your skills as well as to move laterally within the organization. Very accommodating to your personal career goals.”
Viacom: “It’s a bit low-key culturally. The environment is not particularly inspiring, but it is fine.”
Walt Disney Company: “Everyone has a shared passion: Disney. This connects everyone and gives everybody a way to share with each other.”
Warner Bros: “They strive for an amazing culture. There are a number of fabulous affinity groups, health and fitness programs that give out prizes, and a sense of team spirit around our products.”
CEO
NBCUni’s CEO Stephen Burke helps his company pull out another one-point victory, this time over Sony Pictures’ Tony Vinciquerra. The scores for all five are in a relatively close cluster, as these are very public CEOs who face up to a lot of scrutiny from parent companies and the Hollywood press. Disney’s Iger, Viacom’s Bakish, and Warners’ Tsujihara scored well in spite of their placement in third, fourth, and fifth place.
Sony: “Most are positive about him, however Tony V. has only been in the role for a year and a half. There is general approval of him but nothing has really happened yet.”
NBCUniversal: “Everyone I know approves of the CEO; we have monthly financial updates presented by him (live and via broadcast). NBCU does high-level internal communication well.”
Viacom: “Leadership is very approachable. They keep it real.”
Walt Disney Company: “Iger is good at mergers, creating new resorts, theme parks and movies. He needs work with corporate wellness, 401 (K), and putting the right people in the right position.”
Warner Bros: “WB produces the most film and TV product in Hollywood, so the leadership thinks at scale. They tend to be cautious about unintended consequences, so there’s a good amount of analysis required before making major decisions.”
COMPENSATION
Another win for Sony Pictures, this time for Compensation. Employees rated the company’s pay highly, even if there are reservations about certain other studios paying more for certain roles. Viacom and Warner Bros. scored well here to land in second and third place. NBCUniversal and, surprisingly, the House of Mouse came in last with C-range Compensation scores. In the case of both companies, salary ranges also factor in wages for theme park employees on both coasts.
Sony: “Pay scale is 10-15% lower than some industry comparables.”
NBCUniversal: “I’ve been working here for over 10 years, and I’m still making minimum wage.”
Viacom: “They frequently keep people as contractors that should rightfully be hired on as employees.”
Walt Disney Company: “Cast members at the parksface all kinds of physical demands and it would be nice if they were compensated for things like comfortable shoes and prescription benefits.”
Warner Bros: “For some reason, janitorial workers get paid a very sad amount compared to the work load, there is no incentive to do a good job and the custodians end up very resentful, and don’t work as hard.”
PERKS & BENEFITS
Warner Bros. takes a win for their Perks & Benefits package, but all of our companies did well and landed in the B-range except for Sony, who finished last with a C score. Many movie studio employees make up in the presumed benefit of association with a glamorous company what they lack in exemplary salaries.
Sony: “Sony Pictures offers a robust benefits package, great for employees with families.”
NBCUniversal: “You get the benefit of association of work to a large media company, but benefits are somewhat corporate standard. Discounts are not heavy and rare.”
Viacom: “Medical, dental insurance, paid time off, vacations, sick days, and holidays.”
Walt Disney Company: “They provide tickets to get into the park as well as extra ones during certain times of the year, which is nice. And discounts to the stores for merchandise for cruises and so forth.”
Warner Bros: “We get an annual bonus and salary adjustment yearly, plus 401k and a pension plan.”
DIVERSITY
Sony beats Disney by seven percentage points for the win in the Diversity category. Lowest numbers went to Warner Bros, but it’s clear from all the scores that the very public-facing companies have taken major strides towards fair hiring practices.
Sony: “Fairly diverse. Employees are generally very warm and accepting to all walks of life.”
NBCUniversal: “They could work on their diversity. There is currently not enough.”
Viacom: “Largely white and Asian.”
Walt Disney Company: “A massive amount of diversity at the parks (such as the World Showcase having employees from many different nations.)”
Warner Bros: “Pay for females should equal males, but it doesn’t match at all.”
OUTLOOK
Sony: “A lot of changes happening both internally and externally in the industry that is impacting morale in terms of general business downturn and concern of impending downsizing as a result.”
NBCUniversal: “Parks and film are growing non-stop. Broadcasting always lags a bit, since it’s non-digital.”
Viacom: “I appreciate the people I get to work with and the push for new technology.”
Walt Disney Company: “All areas are looking good. They are expanding in everything.”
Warner Bros: “It makes me grateful and proud to be a part of this prestigious company which is known all over the world.”
We can’t argue with Disney winning the Outlook category, what with their recent purchase of 21st Century Fox and their dominance in terms of IP ownership – any company that owns Marvel and Star Wars has the very definition of a good outlook. But this competition wasn’t about box office receipts as much as it was about internal business practices, and the winners in terms of employee sentiment are Sony Pictures and NBCUniversal, despite the passion Disney’s employees obviously have for their company’s well-loved products going back many decades. Warner Bros. took one category (Perks & Benefits) and while Viacom didn’t win any, they weren’t completely dominated, either. For companies that have existed for quite a long time as they are, it’s good to see some amount of effort put into care for the employees. Other long-established U.S. industries haven’t had nearly as easy a time staying modern.
