I haven't done a tv arbitration like that but I can give a bit more info about why tv credits are even more complicated!
Pilot arbitrations determine "created by" which trigger (per episode) royalties and backend (in addition to residuals) and can happen if there are multiple writers. But episode arbitration is rare for one main reason: the showrunner.
The showrunner assigns the script to a writer on staff or a freelance writer. That person gets the WGA minimum fee for that medium and length (network hour is highest, low budget SVOD 1/2 hour is much lower).
(Except staff writers. Their weekly fee "includes" script fees. That is, the fee is "against" the weekly. In theory a staff writer could write so many scripts it's more than the weekly and they're owed more money but this never happens.)
All writer-producers (14K writers) are "scripts on top" meaning they get paid per episode AND per script. So if you get a script assigned to you, you get the script fee. That is I think always the "full" fee, meaning story and teleplay, but I COULD BE WRONG.
Other more experienced showrunners can chime in here but I don't think SRs typically assign a teleplay to a writer and not include the story. Similarly, a freelance deal is always story + teleplay AS FAR AS I KNOW. In tv you actually do these steps so you get paid for them.
So that's the "guaranteed money" portion. Again, I'm not positive but I don't believe you can go back and change that money if say the Co-EP rewrites the ESE and they both get credit. I THINK the Co-EP doesn't get the script fee, but again, others would know better.
And here's why I don't know. As a practical matter, this is handled by the SR and that's why episodes are rarely arbitrated. SRs do the assigning and if you assign the script to 2 writers who aren't partners, the WGA steps in and makes them sign an agreement to share credit.
Remember when I said arbitration happens UNLESS THE WRITERS AGREE? Well, in a room, the writer seem to almost always agree and the WGA never hears about any disputes. MOST SRs let the first writer get all the credit even if the SR does a page-one rewrite.
SRs who stick their name on scripts they rewrite are DICKS. We rewrite everything! Sharing credit with a staff writer is a SHITTY THING TO DO. If you assign a UL writer to rewrite a LL writer, most ULs know they're not getting credit. It's the job.
Some SR do add their names to scripts but they are BAD PEOPLE. I don't care how much you rewrote it, don't "share" credit from writers below you. Now of course, this sharing can happen in 2 ways. Before assignment, that triggers a WGA waiver as mentioned.
(Say you have 1 script left and you give it to the 2 staff writers to write together. They sign a WGA waiver to share credit.) But if it's afterwards, script came in and needs work, you or UL rewrites it, you can stick your name on it, but I don't think this triggers a script fee
for you or the UL. There's only 1 fee and I believe it already went to the first writer. Again, I could be wrong. But say you do stick the CoEP name on the ESE's script bc maybe they technically earned it. There's a "notice of tentative writing credit" (NTWC) for every script
that comes from the WGA and it goes to all participating writers. So ESE sees CoEP is sharing credit and here's where they can object and trigger arbitration. But they don't because they don't want to upset SR who approved the credit. So arbitration never happens. Or rarely.
Freelancers care less so they might arbitrate but staff do not want to piss off SR so they let it go. That's why it's shitty. Because staff writers have no power to object even though they have a legal right to. Maybe the WGA could change the rule to trigger automatic arbitration
where 2 staff writers share credit but right now that's not how it works. Again, I'm not sure but I don't think Co-EP shares ESE's script fee but I could be wrong because I've never let a 2nd writer get credit. But it does matter for residuals.
Unlike a pilot which triggers all sorts of money, episodes get the script fee and residuals and that's it. In broadcast, the residuals are many times more than the script fee. And all credited writers split the residuals. But residuals is even more complex than credits.
So that's a conversation for another day. I'm not sure I answered the original question. I actually forgot what it was. Oh, right, the script fee. I think the script fee is the full fee (story + teleplay) regardless of what the show calls it.
I should clarify that a SR adding your own name to a script you rewrote is BAD but it's less bad if you're adding a different staff writer who did the rewriting. And this may be culturally different in drama rooms.
