The information on this page is believed correct as of May 22, 2008.

With the end of the 2007-2008 broadcast television season on May 21, 2008 this page will no longer be updated.

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With the WGA strike over, this is likely our last “Strike Effect” post. While we may revisit the season/season trends again, the strike will soon be old news.

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The WGA has voted to end their strike.

So, when are your shows back with new episodes? Late Night show writers return immediately, other shows will have new episodes by March, many not until April, others not until Fall 2008 and some aren’t coming back.

With reports that the WGA and AMPTP have reached a tentative deal, the 3 month old writer’s strike may end very soon and writers may be back on the job by Monday.

2/10 UPDATE: The writers will vote on Tuesday whether to end the strike, and so they could be back at work by Wednesday.

How does this effect all your favorite shows? Our Show by Show Strike Status list will now become the Post-Strike Show Status and will track the production ramp up and airing schedules for new episodes of the big 5 broadcast networks. Check back frequently, we will update continuously as information comes in.

Ah, what a difference a Super Bowl makes. Last year CBS had it, and this year Fox did. Because of that we’ll ignore their results this week when trying to see any effects of the WGA strike.

NBC slipped a bit vs. last year, but is still ahead of where they were at mid-season, undamaged by the strike. ABC has stabilized, but at a level about 5% below mid-season, showing definite strike damage. The CW continues to drift lower amid many problems.

Our “Strike Effect” chart shows broadcast network primetime season to date ratings for the 2007-8 season compared to the 2006-7 season.

Nielsen TV Ratings Data: ©2008 Nielsen Media Research, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

No question from here on out, the WGA strike has completely changed the broadcast line ups.

However, for NBC that continues to be good news as its viewership vs. last year keeps improving compared to its level at the middle of this season before any strike effects. Fox continues to show gains from last year and is up to its levels in December, although it’s hard to isolate what is strike related.

ABC and CBS seem pretty clearly hurt by the strike as they continue to slip from their mid-season levels as their scripted shows go dark or rerun. The CW continues to slip downward, but they have so many problems it’s hard to guess where the strike fits in.

Our “Strike Effect” chart shows broadcast network primetime season to date average viewership for the 2007-8 season compared to the 2006-7 season.

Nielsen TV Ratings Data: ©2008 Nielsen Media Research, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

As more and more scripted shows run out of new episodes, the strike is finally beginning to have an effect on primetime ratings.

But, in the case of Fox, it’s a positive effect. I’ll chalk that up to a big NFC Championship game, plus scripted weakness from the competition, because we know that Idol has opened a bit weaker than last year. ABC and CBS are now both slipping vs. their levels established at the beginning of the season. However, NBC is remaining stable at it’s level from mid-October. No wonder Jeff Zucker doesn’t seem too worried about the strike. CW continues its slide into irrelevancy.

Our “Strike Effect” chart shows broadcast network primetime season to date viewership for the 2007-8 season compared to the 2006-7 season.

Nielsen TV Ratings Data: ©2008 Nielsen Media Research, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Our second week of charting the “Strike Effect” has Fox continuing to drift back towards its 2006-7 levels, while ABC and CBS remain down about the same amount vs. last year as they have been all season. NBC continues to recover towards last year’s levels after a dreadful start to the season.

Our “Strike Effect” chart shows broadcast network primetime season to date ratings for the 2007-8 season compared to the 2006-7 season.

Nielsen TV Ratings Data: ©2008 Nielsen Media Research, Inc. All Rights Reserved.