Writers Strike May Interrupt More than Our Regular Scheduled Programming

What will happen if the writers strike goes longer than expected? Besides missing out on new episodes of Gossip Girl (I get so upset just thinking about it), we could be looking at prolonged effects to television content and advertising. MediaPost asked a group of media researchers to speculate on the viewing consequences of the strike. Here are a few interesting points they made.

- Fewer scripted, popular, original shows air, resulting in diminished DVR usage.

- Original scripted programs that are sequentially organized, such as Fox's "24" and ABC's "Lost," lose momentum during strike hiatus and forever suffer ennui as viewers lose interest and others never re-sample.

- The incubation of rookie programs is interrupted, disrupting the cultivation of audiences and withering upon the return to regularly scheduled original episodes.

- Depending upon the length of the strike, next year's pilot season could be significantly impacted, thereby injuring the scheduling of the 2008-09 broadcast season. Note: In 1988, the strike ignited in the spring and thereby took place after the new season plans/strategies were formulated.

- Topical programming transmogrifies into non-topical, and thereby the printed word (Web and newspaper) has more resonance with the community.

- Program ratings diminish; broadcast and cable networks have difficulty meeting guarantees; marketplace tightens; broadcast and cable networks run out of avails to assuage angry advertisers and their agencies; networks give back cash: an anathema.

- Do all upfront estimates have to be thrown out of the window? How will ad agencies handle estimating fluid program schedules? Will advertisers and their agencies be forced to re-negotiate their upfront deals?