The Brit writers may get higher residuals, but their shows generate a fraction of the revenue of American shows.

Maybe that’s why no one is mentioning it.

If the “scripted” writers had supported us as members of the union from day 1, the networks couldn’t be using the excuse of “reality” shows as subs for scripted comedy and drama. Reality writers should be covered, just as animation writers and news and radio writers should be. The guild has been behind our petitions for coverage for at least ten years, but when it comes to evil greedy reality producers like Mike Fleiss and Mark Burnett, it’s too little too late. These guys have made the incredibly profitable field of network reality TV into the wild wild west.

Happily, reality - guild-covered or not - will never entirely replace scripted. In the meantime, give us some love, dramatic writers - we are out there on the picket lines with you this time!

Hahahahahahahahahahahaha. Ah. Hahahahahahaha. Done now. Nope. Hahahahahahahahahaha.

Somebody call 911. Hahahahahahahahaha…

Enjoy the show, d-bag. Jesus wept. “Meerkat Manor.”

What if the strike is a way of resetting Hollywood? That is to say, writers make X amount per week on top of the script payments they write for a show. But so many sitcoms and dramas have so many high level writers, Co-Producer, Co-Executive Producer, etc… the above-the-line budget becomes TOP HEAVY and then it’s very hard to have money to make other shows. If the strike is prolonged, a lot of writers will leave the business, because there won’t be a business for scripted TV. When the strike resolves, you’ll have a bunch of new writers who will be making significantly less, but more manageable for overall scripted show budgets.

Scripted television hasn’t been doing well for a long time and the reason? Ratings have continued to erode. People watch shows via DVRs or the internet or don’t watch TV like they used to.

Let’s not forget other reality shows that continue to do really well in the ratings besides AMERICAN IDOL and DANCING WITH THE STARS. Ever watched BRAVO’s shows? Project Runway, Top Chef, Real Housewives of the OC, etc.? These shows come back year after year because there is an audience… the numbers might not equal network TV’s… but guess what… CW’s ratings are terrible now anyway and Bravo shows score higher than CW.

The truth of the matter is… if the strike lasts through January… there will be no time to get new shows made for this season and air then in the ‘07-’08 season. Another hard reality… if the strike lasts until June… pilot season is shot for ‘08-’09 and could ruin network TV for that season as well.

I understand writers want more money and want some of the new media pie… but if this strike goes through next June… are the writers going to still be here… or will they have defaulted on their houses and moved back home… wherever home is? The entire industry will be crippled.

Big Media MAY be making one huge miscalculation or - at least - a dangerous leap into a financial abyss. What’s the business going to be when they return from the strike? It is very difficult to see how reruns and reality stem the overall erosion of viewership.

At precisely the time, when broadcast television needs exciting programming to entice audiences they are letting it go completely - at least for time being. Now, would be a great time for a BIG NEW MEDIA competitor to come in and cement deals with big name talent, catering to a slightly younger, new media saavy demo. Of course, it would need to be a completely different business model. But I think many top tier talents would bet on themselves if they felt they had the money to make their show and the backing to promote. Younger audiences will go to the right show, regardless if it airs on tv or not.

If I worked for one of those companies, it would be great to promote a first run show while the nets are airing reruns. I think there would be a lot of fun free press there.

1.) Nothing is nothing and if the studio alliance wishes to unplug this season let them explain that to advertising and foreign markets.

2.) True about the studios but that only goes for Time Warner, all other studios have broadcast outlets and the division between these two media sectors has disappeared a long, long time ago.

3.) Do you honestly think SAG is going to back down due to the treatment to the writers. All the guilds and their members understand the here and the now is at stake.

4.) Do you think the studio alliance will ‘give back’ re: New Media…Judging by their display of greed over DVDs the WGA should not take any chances and not give an inch and be taken for a mile.

5.) How are those media conglomerate stocks doing? Time Warner breaking up? GE going to sell NBCU? Viacom/CBS has volumes of issues starting from the top…Short term maybe okay, long term…I would short every single one of them.

6.) The studio alliance lies doesn’t work either.

7.) You mean hype or spin…The buzz you hear are the chainsaws of angry viewers who will be on the web or game consoles before they watch the studio alliance’s alternative drek.

Scripted will always have a market. The previous poster reminds me of the early days of Rap. “Oh, Rock is dead. Rap is here, that’s it.” Blah, blah, blah.

The rumor about agents looking for clients in foreign lands is just that. Rumor. Spin it all you want. It is a lie. Another pathetic move by the other side. Their small tactics show their weakness.

Can someone send them The Art of War so that they can at least not look so pathetic.

WGA is galvanized and will not be toppeled by such weak manipulations.

Do you remember when reality tv first really caught on? The next few seasons there was an overabundance of them. After that, most of them went away.

Studios can bank on reality being the wave of the future, but the overall reality genre just doesn’t have the consistent ratings to back these predictions.

The American public might be pretty fickle, but the entire history of society has shown the need and purpose of the storyteller. We won’t just “forget” about these wonderful tales we’ve had, and numb ourselves with overprocessed glurge as some sort of amnesiac.

Also, please don’t ever try to associate “Rock of Love” with “Meerkat Manor” again.

Disclaimer: just a fan, not in the industry.

:rolls eyes:

I can tell you that top-tier agents I know on both sides of the pond are NOT currently trying to recruit scab writers. They know I and others would dump them in a heartbeat if they got into that game, and we are the clients who pay their bills. And British agents are very reluctant to recommend that their clients should strikebreak because of the possible damage to their careers if they hit it big.

They are confused and afraid and they want the strike to be over.