Strike in Hollywood sets media budgets in motion
If the Writers Guild of America strike continues for an extended period, it is likely to lead to a shift in advertising spending away from television and toward other media. For this reason, media agencies are already openly considering alternative advertising slots in movie theaters, on the radio, and in digital and print media.
The screenwriters' union strike in the United States, which has been ongoing since November 2, 2007, is likely to lead to a shift in advertising spending away from television and towards other media if it continues for any length of time. As Adage.com reports, the strike means that scripts for short-run TV series, talk shows and soap operas in particular are not being produced, meaning that no new episodes can be produced. Due to a lack of new material, various stations have already started to broadcast reruns, which has led to a slump in viewer numbers for talk shows such as "The Tonight Show" and "Saturday Night Live". For this reason, media agencies are already thinking out loud about looking for alternative advertising space for their clients in cinema, radio and digital and print media. With the Christmas season just around the corner, the problem of falling viewer numbers is becoming even more acute. The retail business is so dependent on fourth quarter sales that advertisers can't afford poorly invested ad time, Horizon Media's Eric Blankfein told Adage.com. So far, according to various media people, there has been no shift of ad time to other media. However, this will change if the strike continues. Cinema, radio and the like will be happy.
