Indy Mogul
Writers Strike Cliff Notes
So you're favorite TV show is in reruns? (Thankfully IndyMogul never has reruns!) Yea, it sucks, but i'm sure a lot of people out there are asking "Why?" and I thought I would give a little change of pace and try to answer that question.
You see, most industry writers are part of a writers union known as the Writer's Guild of America, to try to protect writers (as they are more or less treated like dirt in Hollywood unless they are a director as well). The WGA deals with what writers get paid, how much the get in royalties for their work, and various other duties.
The strike is based on residuals that the writers get paid for their work being distributed on the Internet and on DVD (very similar to the 1988 Strike only in 1988 it was based on how much they were paid for the home video market). The AMPTP (The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, the organization the writers are striking against) are saying that the internet market (like the home video market in 1988) is unproven, and unprofitable, and that the writers getting a piece of the pie would cut into studio profits, not allowing them to develop the internet distribution channels.
The writers counter that the potential for growth in digital distribution channels is huge, and that it needs to be settled now, and that just like the home video market in the 80's, the Internet is a market that is soon to explode in growth an profitability and that the writers residuals for the developing market needs to be negotiated now.
It appears that once again, the Studios will be forced to negotiate with the writers, as the industry has already lost almost it's entire TV schedule to the strike, and by the end of the year the episodes written before the strike will have dried up and the networks (and the studios) will begin to really feel the heat once advertisers no longer want to pay as much to have their ad's on re-runs.
As viewership goes down from shows being cycled in reruns, ad revenues will decline, and the Studios won't be able to as effectively publicize their films if no one is watching TV.
With the Screen Actor's Guild and Director's Guild up for negotiations for their contacts next summer, if the strike isn't resolved by then (the 1988 strike lasted 22 weeks and cost the industry over 0 Million) it could make the entire industry collapse, and force negotiations.
Also, if the teamsters (the guys who drive the trucks and move equipment) refuse to cross the picket lines, it could also lead to the industry screeching to a halt sooner rather than later.
So it looks like that the studios will be forced to negotiate, and hopefully the strike is resolved before film production is hit, and the industry collapses as even a short collapse could lead to a lot of films going into development hell and the industry potentially losing BILLIONS which wouldn't be a good thing for the writers or the studios.
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