TV has nothing to talk about
TEXT OF STORY
Doug Krizner: Film and TV writers are officially on strike today for the first time in nearly 20 years. Talks between the writers’ union and representatives for the major studios broke down late last night.
The immediate impact will be television. Late-night talk shows will be in reruns. That’ll mean headaches for advertisers. From WLRN, Marketplace’s Dan Grech reports.
Dan Grech: “The Tonight Show” with Jay Leno pulls in roughly $50 million a year in profit for NBC. But without writers, late night and other talk shows will go to reruns. That means smaller audiences for programs — and for commercials.
Brad Adgate is with Horizon Media. He says networks will give advertisers extra time or money back if audiences shrink too far.
Brad Adgate: Marketers will be protected, and I think they have other opportunities to spend their ad dollars besides a 30-second commercial on television.
And therein lies the risk. While writers and studios fight over digital revenues, viewers and advertisers could flock to the web.
Adgate: The irony about all of this is you might start to see people go online to get entertainment, rather than watching television.
I’m Dan Grech for Marketplace.
Stories You Might Like
There’s a lot happening in the world. Through it all, Marketplace is here for you.
You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible.
Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.
