How will Irish TV be affected by the Hollywood writers strike?
3 Comments Published January 7th, 2008 in PR in IrelandAn article on Reuters points out that American TV viewers are in for a rude awakening this month due to the Hollywood writers strike. Some of their favourite shows will be put on pause until the dispute is resolved. As a result more reality shows have been ordered (oh dear god no more please!) and the future of a number of programmes like ER hangs in the balance.
What will be interesting to see is how Irish TV stations are affected. If the strike is resolved in the next couple of months, the only thing that Irish viewers might note is the relative shortness of some series – for example, season two of Heroes only consists of 12 episodes compared to 22 in the previous season. As most series take a couple of months to make their way across the water, we might not notice much, but it still highlights how dependent most Irish TV stations are on foreign programming.
Shows like ER and Desperate Housewives are big hitters for RTE, so if any of the programming they buy is affected by the strike they lose out in terms of ad revenue and sponsorship.
TV3 is making more of an effort in terms of programming, they have a big focus on securing sporting rights at the moment for example. However there are plenty of instances when you can switch between TV3 and UTV and not notice the difference.
Funnily enough I think the likes of TG4 and Channel 6 would be worst affected by the strike. TG4 has been clever in recent years by securing niche programming that attracts loyal audiences. Shows like The Wire and Oz have drawn unlikely viewers to the station and had something of a halo effect. Shows with shorter runs or that end up as casualties of the strike won’t exactly help them attract more viewers.
Poor old Channel 6 is so dependent on US programming it isn’t even funny. They’ve made a big song and dance about securing shows like Heroes, but haven’t attracted the viewers to warrant their investment. Now that season two of Heroes only has 12 episodes and has drawn plenty of criticism from fans, their over-reliance on similar programming could come back to bite them in the rear end for what is set to be a very challenging year for the station.
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Ah but Piaras what about the moves some of the networks have made to reduce the strike’s impact.
NBC deliberately kept the new season of Law & Order until January so that they would have enough episodes to fill out a midseason run at worst, Fox has done the same with the Sarah Connor Chronicles. In both cases the strike is actually good for ratings. L&O is a mainstay on the peacock that hasn’t shined in the ratings as of late but when you’re the only fresh meat on the box people will tune in. Likewise the relative free run that Sarah Connor Chronicles in this its opening season is getting will likely improve it’s chances in the long run. CBS went for an alternative route by running Cane on a shorter, cable length, 13 episode run for its entire first season. Meanwhile cable shows such as The Wire are hitting the screens just as viewers get used to having nothing to watch on regular networks.
As for this side of the water I have to disagree on Channel 6. Yes it paid for Heroes but it lives and dies by shows that have already been made. Repeats are its mainstay and even with the shows it has the first run of it’s already a full season behind in many cases. House for example has only reached the end of season 2 on Channel 6 while it’s at the midpoint in season 4 on Fox. It’s not even known if 6 will bother showing the rest of House.
TG4 meanwhile has The Wire as its flagship US show these days, and it finished filming before the strike began so again the hit on the US front for that station won’t be as big.
Yeah also impressed by moves like Showtime to start showing Dexter to regular punters. Interesting to hear that about what other networks are doing.
In terms of Channel 6, don’t think having US repeats as a mainstay is anything to crow about.
The TG4 comment was more about if they opt to pick up other US shows, hopefully they won’t go for The Unit eh?
Piaras you disappoint me. Channel 6 already have The Unit and are showing it on a first run basis in Ireland. They’re still on season one so they have another season and a half to keep them tidy on that front.
As for the repeats as mainstays, it may not be something to crow about but it is relevant as when that’s their bread and butter then the strike is really little to worry about. RTE 2 relies a lot more on first run US shows and will suffer more as a result.