California: What the Writer's Strike Won't Change
According to Forbes.com:
A week before the Hollywood writers' strike began, NBC Universal Chief Executive Jeff Zucker warned of "a real watershed" and "an inflection point" for the entertainment industry.
There's certainly a lot at stake, including the long-term health of the Writers Guild itself (see: "Why The Writers Must Win").
And while Americans continue to watch a record amount of television, the broadcast TV networks' share of that audience continues to slide, so giving viewers another reason to change the channel is the last thing they want to do.
But here are three much-discussed things the writers' strike will not change:
The strike won't cause consumers to abandon TV programming in favor of Web video.
Americans may be swimming in entertainment options, but one thing remains constant: They can't get enough TV. During the 2006-07 television year that ended Sept. 23, the average U.S. household tuned in for eight hours and 14 minutes a day, according to Nielsen, a record high unchanged from the previous year. The Consumer Electronics Association projects that about 36% of U.S. households will own a high-definition TV set by the end of 2007, up from about 30% at the end of June.
Sure, Internet videoclips draw more and more viewers of late, and the Web is a fascinating showcase for emerging talent. Aside from Google's (nasdaq: GOOG - news - people ) YouTube and News Corp.'s (nyse: NWS - news - people ) MySpace, there are now countless other places on the Web to watch fun, compelling original content, including Metacafe, Blip.TV, DailyMotion, Joost and others. But keep in mind that the most-watched clips on the Internet are taken from TV shows...click to continue
