Will the writers' strike really boost book and DVD sales?

[Brigitte]

I just saw an article on the NY Times that questions if DVD sales are going to significantly increase because of the writers' strike. The article is here:

Strike News: DVD Demands May Boost DVD Sales - TV Decoder - Media & Television - New York Times Blog

This article talks about only DVD sales, but I suppose we can consider books and literature in there for those TV viewers that read on the side.

Personally, I wonder if the TV viewing public is really going to start buying books or movies if they don't have their "free" programming anymore. I probably wouldn't, but I try not to be a big spender. Does anybody think the loss of television programming will actually boost profits elsewhere?

 

[Lanista]

Not in the short term. I think that we're so used to seeing repeats nowadays that the action will take a long time to bite into anyone's entertainment schedule. Which is a real shame as the writers really deserve to paid for their contribution. It's easy to overestimate what they do, of course, but at the end of the day the original vision is theirs.

Obviously what the original scriptwriter produces (especially in the movies) and what ends up on the screen are really different, but still. The writers make a huge contribution and should be renumnerated. Film and TV production is a team effort - we've all seen the awards show where the actor says "We could never have made this great movie without <INSERT TEAM HERE>..." so the team should be rewarded.

Cheers

Russ

 

[Gav]

Will the writers' strike really boost book and DVD sales?

No

 

[Vincent Tauscher]

Probably, but there's one thing it will for sure boost revenue for--those annoying reality TV shows. Just when I "hoped" that they were going out of style....

 

[Marky Lazer]

I don't think they're on strike for a boost in sales, really. As far as I followed the debate, they want better pay, because the companies make money putting the scripts, etc. on Internet and mobile phones. The writers want a part from this income, which only seems fair, I guess.