Strike may punish primetime TV ratings

By Paul Thomasch

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A drawn out strike by Hollywood's screenwriters could send prime-time ratings at the major U.S. television networks plummeting 20 percent, a top media buyer said on Thursday, at a time when the industry is already struggling to satisfy viewers and advertisers.

But a strike lasting well into the winter or spring could also lead to some badly needed changes in the television business, said Rino Scanzoni, chief investment officer for North America at WPP Group's (WPP.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) GroupM unit.

"The good thing about something like this is the fact it will probably encourage the networks to put things on the air that they might not have put on the air otherwise," Scanzoni told the Reuters Media Summit in New York. "If they take bigger chances, they might find some success where they wouldn't if they were trying to play it safe."

Another silver lining to a prolonged strike, he said, is that it may force networks to reexamine the industry's custom of launching most of its new shows over a few weeks each fall.

"I would love to see the broadcast networks get off this fall season scenario," Scanzoni said. "The whole idea of putting on a lot of new shows in a couple of weeks in a new season does not work. If this disrupts that and creates more of an ongoing process, that's a good thing."

The Writers Guild of America went on strike on November 5 after the collapse of talks with the major film and television studios, halting nearly 20 years of labor peace in Hollywood.

At issue are writers' demands for a greater share of revenue from the Internet, widely seen as a key future distribution channel for most entertainment.

Talks restarted this week, and Scanzoni said it appeared negotiations between the screenwriters and media companies were progressing.  Continued...