Posted on 11 January 2008 by Bill Gorman
If you haven’t already, you’re about to hear about how the WGA strike “ruined” the current broadcast TV season. But how much of the change in viewership is due to the strike, which has become a convenient scapegoat, and how much is due to other factors like the historical drift of viewers away from broadcast TV, additional non-TV entertainment choices, or simply bad programming?
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Posted on 09 January 2008 by Bill Gorman
As the WGA strike grinds on, 8 of the top 20 current season to date TV ratings leaders for adults 18-49 will continue unaffected by the WGA writer’s strike. And that doesn’t take into account the 2 American Idol airings, yet to begin, that are certain to be at or near the top of the season’s final ratings. So, effectively half of the top 20 shows will remain untouched.
It seems to me that the writer’s strike position is(was?) weakened by the fact that only 11 of the top 20 (although 5 of the top 6) shows are being shut down early by the strike. NBC Sunday Night Football is going away normally. You might add 24 to that list, depending upon what happens to it.
Season to Date Average Adult Viewers 18-49 Through January 6, 2008
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Posted on 08 January 2008 by Bill Gorman
I’m all for getting noticed, but this seems way too close to tugging on Superman’s cape, spitting into the wind, etc.
An actual banner ad from NBC..
Very, very soon they’ll be All Old & Reality, All Week!
Posted on 16 December 2007 by Bill Gorman
12/27 UPDATE: Deal announced between Dave and the WGA.
12/22 UPDATE: No deal announced between Dave and the WGA.
12/21 UPDATE: Dave’s production company is meeting with the writers today.
12/19 UPDATE: Dave and Craig seem to be headed back on Jan 2, whether they reach a deal with the WGA or not.
With reports that David Letterman’s Worldwide Pants production company will pursue a separate deal with the WGA, I can certainly see how it makes sense for Dave. He’s reportedly paying $300,000 / week in salaries to his out of work staff (and some guess the total expense is triple that) and he’d get on the air with his writers before any of his competition.
CBS head Les Moonves is likely happy too. His biggest problem right now (although bigger problems loom) with the writer’s strike is the lack of new late night shows for his advertisers. A deal to get Dave back on the air would take care of that with little risk to CBS, because Dave’s show is owned by Dave’s production company, not CBS.
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Posted on 13 December 2007 by Robert Seidman
When it comes to disputes between labor and management I am torn. As with all disputes, “the truth” usually lies somewhere in the middle. But all my experience in working in the telecommunications industry in the 80s and 90s was that the unions that represented telecom workers did a very, very lousy job at supporting their constituents.
Posted on 12 December 2007 by Bill Gorman
Not Much News; Nor Is Any Likely
Our latest (updated today!) Show By Show Strike Status is here.
More talk of what late night hosts will do as the strike lingers. Reports that Letterman’s production company is making the payroll of $300,000 a week, but for how much longer?
The strike may be accelerating the rise of cable vs. broadcast, but for many conglomerates, it’s just transferring money from one pocket to another.
The real AMPTP website, with a counter reportedly showing what the strike is costing writers.
Posted on 11 December 2007 by Bill Gorman
Talks Likely Off For Remainder of Year; War of Words Escalates
Our latest (updated today!) Show By Show Strike Status is here.
With no talks scheduled, the offline war of words heats up. First from the head of WGA East, “They lie. And then they lie again.
And from the AMPTP, “The writers of the future will suffer for many years…“
NBC has begun giving advertisers refunds for ratings shortfalls.
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Posted on 10 December 2007 by Bill Gorman
Talks Collapse; Accusations Fly
Our latest Show By Show Strike Status is here.
Talks between striking writers and the AMPTP collapsed late last week, amid many accusations from both sides. No new talks are scheduled.
Get ready for the reality tidal wave, as well as more schedule changes and ad sales scrambling, as the upfront ad sales market may be threatened.
Also, we could see lots more politics in primetime. That stuff can’t be written, nor watched if you ask me.
Still more that some new shows may benefit.
