Dec 07
17
Opportunities blossom due to writer’s strike?
A very thought-provoking article in the LA Times about striking writers in talks to develop online startups. Here, in equation format, is my thought process on this:
Talented writers and industry sympathizers on strike
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TV and movie studios who have not learned the lessons of the music industry
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Blossoming infrastructure for alternative distribution via the Web
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Millions of people in Canada and US who will have nothing, but re-runs, reality TV and game shows to watch come February in what might be the coldest winter in a long time
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Possibility for massive audience migration from TV to online content
Combined this with:
Advertisers passing the point of diminishing returns on TV and other forms of mass advertising
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Advertising agencies eagerly experimenting with content creation, viral, social media and other forms of earned media
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Venture Capitalists eager to invest in online entertainment with proven track-records in content creation and workable business models
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Possibility of real money being placed behind online entertainment
Quote from article:
Some of the writers who are drafting business plans said that if the strike had lasted only a week, they would have just gone back to work. But now they’ve had time to plot strategy — and to realize that a prolonged strike with reruns and reality shows filling the airwaves might allow them to grab a wandering audience.
If there is one thing that the Net is good at, it is re-routing around anything that creates barriers between those that provide and those that want. In my humble opinion, TV and movie studios may be committing the biggest act of industrial suicide since the record companies sued Napster resulting in hundreds of competitors and a massive erosion of the outdated business model.
I will not claim to be an expert in the hollywood studio system, but to me this feels like a potential tipping point.
[tags] LATimes, WritersStrike, TV, strike, writers[/tags]