When the Writers Guild of America held their first labor strike in 1988, television viewers turned to cable as an alternative to the regular shows they were missing, and they clearly embraced the programming. That first strike lasted 22 weeks, and the impact of it can still be seen today in America’s television viewing habits, which continue to rely on cable television as its main source of entertainment.
How will the Writers Guild strike of 2007 impact us in this day and age of the Internet? If the first strike was indicative of what will happen, people will probably spend more time entertaining themselves online rather than watching reruns on television. User generated content, which is always well stocked, should be in high demand. Sites such as YouTube will certainly benefit from the strike.
Unique content will be key to turning eyeballs into dollars. People will be looking to satiate their viewing needs, and if they can get their fix on the Internet, they will certainly be back for more. This could be a great opportunity for some websites to become more mainstream and capture a new audience of Internet savvy viewers.
I think Doug Aamoth said it best on Crunch Gear,
“To those of you in the Writers Guild; whether or not I agree with the reason you’re striking, I wish you the best of luck and I hope you consider creating content for the web. And if you do, I hope you’ll realize that you don’t need the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers to get that content onto the Internet.” — Source: Crunch Gear
