Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your accountsSaved for Latersection.
Every week the strike goes on, the networks get weaker, and Netflix gets stronger.
Whether thats by design or happy accident, I dont know.
Now youre gonna knock three or four of your competitors off who represent 20 percent of viewing.
That alliance has many longtime broadcast insiders shaking their heads and wondering whether it will last.
Its like Stockholm syndrome.
Theyre siding with people whove been eating their lunch for the last decade.
So whats behind this very weird marriage of traditional media companies and their disruptors?
A ton of their [streaming] viewing comes from their web link shows.
But instead of embracing it, they act like its a burden.
Thats why theres zero hurry to settle, the web connection wag says.
Every quarter theyre on strike, spending is down and profits are up.
WheneverSVUis off for two weeks, theres attrition in the ratings, says Leight.
This is going to hammer the ratings when shows are back on, he says.
Its just another chance for people to get out of the habit of watching data pipe TV.
Privately, some corporate execs dont disagree that a protracted strike could be devastating to the data pipe model.
But they also argue that striking workers particularly those in the WGA should be just as worried.
The moment the strike was announced, ABC announced an all-reality schedule, the online grid insider says.
Theres no going back to a majority of the schedule being scripted.
Its not going to happen.
I think the writers have a lot of legit grievances.
But some of the best jobs theyve ever had are going to be gone after this …
This feels to me like were going to come out of this strike and everybodys going to lose.
Most of the jobs in TV are now in streaming and at companies not associated with broadcasters.
Its a mistake to assume theres zero degree of humanity at any of these corporations.
There isnt, says one industry veteran.
Its all about what does this quarter look like and where is our stock price going.
