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With writers still striking, is the Web substituting for TV?

By Jacqueline Emigh, BetaNews

January 25, 2008, 10:16 AM

According to one recent study, people are spending more time on the Internet than usual during the Hollywood TV writers' strike. According to another survey, more than half of all the people on the Web have watched online videos.

The Internet is displaying more and more of the ramifications of a TV replacement, if results of a couple of major surveys published this week are a good indication.

In one of those reports, MindShare found that, due to repeat programming on TV, nearly half of respondents are spending more time than usual online during the Hollywood writers' strike.

Another recent study did focus on what people when they go online. Like the MindShare study, the study by Burst Media was conducted as an online survey. Burst questioned people 18 years of age or older.

According to Burst's results, 72% of respondents have viewed online content, a number that's up -- although only slightly -- over the 69.5% who gave the same answer in a similar study done by the company the year before. Those samples, however, were taken, during a time long before the Hollywood writers' strike.

In this year's survey by Burst, the majority of the respondents in each age bracket said they've watched video content online, including 58.6% of those 65 years of age and older.

Moreover, across all age segments, 58.8% viewed video on the Internet at least once a week.

But online video viewing turned out to be most frequent of all among 18-to-24-year-old men, 33.7% of whom said they watch some type of online video content at least once a day.

What types of video content is popular on the Web? Not that surprisingly, it sort of mirrors the kinds of materials that people watch on television.

Across all age groups, news clips turned out to be the number one choice, followed by music videos; comedy videos; movie trailers/advertising; TV show video/clips; entertainment news; sports/sports news; and cooking videos.

Turning back for a moment to the MindShare study, some of the other results might possibly be taken to indicate that once people start going online instead of watching TV, maybe some of them start to prefer the Web.

The MindShare survey of 1,000 adults was done between January 11 and 14 of this year, and it was a follow-up to a similar poll taken between November 9 through 12, 2007, just after the writers' strike began.

Only 24% of those surveyed in November agreed that the strike would "really impact/change their viewing habits."

In comparison, more than half of those surveyed in January agreed with that statement.

About 70% of those questioned in January said they would return to watching their favorite shows on TV after the strike ended, but another 28% predicted that they either might not -- or would definitely not --return to those TV shows.

Add a Comment (13 Comments)

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By ingram091

posted Jan 26, 2008 - 10:46 AM

Personally I say let them strike till May when the union contract is expired. Then the whole lot gets fired. Then if they ever want to work again, then take what work they are given, and the union is gone.

The DGA Deal was proof that the WGA Union themselves were the ones causing the problem, and the source of the rampant unemployment problem in Hollywood now, which are not the writers, they are still paid, Not the directors or producers, they are still paid. Its the studio staff. Gaffers, Grips, Cameramen, stage hands, set designers, Lighting engineers, ect... They are among the lowest paid, and now basically unemployed...

The WGA Union demanding reality TV be a part of their union further increasing their power to extort the industry in these times will NEVER happen.

The DGA knew this from the beginning and went in with the demands that the WGA originally said they were striking over, and guess what? within a few hours a deal was made and it was back to business, at least what little is left from it.

I can hold out with Canadian and BBC programing till MAY when the WGA contract is finished, lets put this union out of its misery and get the writers in something that knows what the hell they are doing for their members rather then for themselves.

Score: 0

By Program86

posted Jan 25, 2008 - 5:34 PM

If they cancel Big Bang Theory because of this strike, they are gonna get a swift kick in the arse!

Score: 0

By DatabaseBen

edited Jan 25, 2008 - 5:40 PM

Don’t see what the big deal is with the writers, all the TV. shows suck and are just plain stupid....

vampire cop, bionic chick, talking car, the your fired show, the all you ate show, the wannabe millionaire show, that lunatic chick who talks to well dressed ghosts, that Chinese dude that does a vanishing act, nerds in the closet, etc, etc, etc.. The list of stupidly is endless.

Can anyone tell me when that Clark Kent will become a superman instead of the snotty nose farm boy? Isn’t he too old to be living on the farm? And what happened to all the farm animals?

What is really moronic is to see Leno and Letterman, who make millions each month for a one hour show, are nothing more than mindless puppets without the writers. There shows with writers suck anyways.

I saw “Fire them all” and instead hire monkeys with typewriters and pay them with bananas.

Score: 0

By sjc001

posted Jan 26, 2008 - 5:46 AM

Don't forget that "comedy" about cavemen which was really a show about blacks....

Score: 0

By DatabaseBen

edited Jan 26, 2008 - 1:54 PM

i certainly hope that it was not.

i could only bare to watch 10 minutes of it before i found that program to be a waste of my time and an infringement and insult for the intelligence of american entertainment and the viewers.

---------

i have a suggestion for a block buster tv show, but no point in giving it away for free.

Score: 0

By Briantist

posted Jan 25, 2008 - 2:53 PM

The writer's strike seems to be turkeys voting for Christmas!

Over here in the UK, we are finally seeing TV moving online, the BBC have launched their iPlayer http://bbc.co.uk/iplayer - and some people (not me) are surprised to find that people are watching 30 minute shows, and half of the viewing is outside the top 50 shows (ie, long tail) with 3.5 million shows watched in the first two weeks.

This proves that the writers have a point, but perhaps they would be better advised just writing some stuff and putting online?

Score: 0

By smith288

posted Jan 25, 2008 - 1:59 PM

The Writers union doesnt really have much in terms of negotiations.

Networks can throw up reality TV or classic reruns to offset the lack of new content and people will still watch. its not like shutting down our transportation system or automotive industry (which those unions are damaging to the US industry themselves)

Score: 0

By sjc001

edited Jan 26, 2008 - 5:56 AM

Actually that last part isn't true. What is really damaging US industry is outsourcing the jobs to overseas where they get paid next to nothing. An American union job, in the manufacturing industry, use to pay around an average of $20+ per hour, now it is under $10 per hour and dropping. When it comes to American industry it isn't the unions to blame, but the greedy corporations themselves instead. Its getting to be that most strikes, in that area, are mainly just to keep their jobs and not to get more benefits.

Score: 0

By KRome

posted Jan 25, 2008 - 12:41 PM

the writers need to get a real job. the money they have lost during the strike will never be recouped by an increase on the contract. I hate unions.

Score: 0

By PC_Tool

posted Jan 25, 2008 - 1:48 PM

Not a big fan of them myself, and I've never really been one to suggest that some people might be less than completely self-serving, but *perhaps* there is a slight possibility that they are fighting for the writers of the future, who might actually *want* some residual income from the "online" airing of their work.

Of course, this is assuming writers *should* be treated any differently than a data entry clerk. ;)

Score: 0

By PC_Tool

posted Jan 25, 2008 - 10:34 AM

Although this particular study didn't delve into what the dissatisfied TV viewers do when they go online, it's probably a good bet that many of them are viewing videos -- as opposed to reading text-based Web pages -- online.

...and I would guess they're playing Yahoo! games. (But then, I have a rather cynical view of things)

According to Burst's results, 72% of respondents have viewed online content,

Define "online content". If they're on the internet, isn't *everything they see* "online content"?

People are bored, they're going online and finding something else to do. There's also a lot of video out there. I'd be hard-pressed to *not* see a online vid or two a day, even when not looking for any.

Score: 0

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