Posted by
on Monday, November 05, 2007 8:47:10 AM
November 5 2007
Duncan Riley
Hollywood film and television writers go on strike today in a move that will slowly cripple the big media production machine.
The strike relates to demands by writers for higher residual
payments for DVD sales and internet downloads, and follows the
breakdown of 3 months of negotiations with the Alliance of Motion
Picture and Television Producers.
The Writers Guild of America last went on strike in 1988, in a dispute that lasted 5 months.
Shows expected to immediately disappear from the airwaves include
NBC’s Tonight Show and Late Night, CBS’ Late Show and Late, Late Show,
ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live and Comedy Central’s The Daily Show and The
Colbert Report.
Producers have been aware of the possibility of a strike for some
months and have stockpiled scripts and show episodes so most regular
pre-recorded shows should not be affected for the immediate future,
however if the strike lasts over the longer term it is likely that the
networks will start resorting to reruns and game shows to fill airtime
as fresh product runs out.
The strike poses an interesting challenge for television at a time
where internet usage has surpassed TV viewing time in most homes. Users
are already choosing online entertainment over TV, how many more will
switch off their televisions when their favorite shows stop going to
air? These eyeballs present a real opportunity for online content
creators at all levels; from the VC funded video startups through to
the DIY part timers. The trends in viewer numbers have all been headed
online to this point, this strike could well accelerate this trend,
particularly if it lasts over the long term. It will be a chance for
millions online to bloom.*
http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/11/05/hollywood-writers-strike-a-chance-for-millions-online-to-bloom/"Lucky for the writers, the strike comes at the beginning of
NaNoWriMo
(National Novel Writing Month), and those who have always wanted to
write the Great American Novel can come home from the picket line and
join the over 100,000 people working to finish their 50,000-word novel
by the end of the month.
Hopefully when they come back to work, there will still be people left who want to watch their shows."
http://www.social-marketing.com/blog/2007/11/writers-block-wga-on-strike.html