How My Sister Is Ruining Television And What You Can Do To Help

“I don’t want TV to go away.”

“I know; did you see this week’s episode of The Office? There’s only one more before it’s over. They’ve shut down production and all the below-the-line people have been fired.”

“No, it didn’t record. I’m about to watch it online.”

“Nooooo! You’re the reason we’re never going to have television again!”

Okay, so maybe I was being slightly hyperbolic when I basically told my sister she had killed television. However, the fact remains, these are desperate TV times in which we live and we the TV fans need to help get things back to normal. The issues at hand are relatively simple and are explained in the video below:



It’s easy to paint the writers as greedy fat cats who are trying to get more money at the expense of the industry, its employees and the TV viewers. The fact is, with the exception of a small percentage of guild members, these writers are a largely middle-class people. While their industry may have some glamour attached to it, they are not much different than you or I. The main thing that separates them from us, in fact, is the prolonged bouts of unemployment that are all but inevitable in their profession. At any given time 48% of Writers Guild members are jobless. Sometimes these stretches of unemployment can last for years. Writers depend on residuals to pay the mortgage, send their kids to school and keep the lights on. They are not asking for the moon. They are asking for basic respect and to be paid a minimum amount (2.5% for online content and 8 cents per DVD) for their work.

Despite the fact that online revenue for television content hit $700 million last year, the networks would have you believe that this newfangled internet thingy is so experimental that they simply cannot figure out how to make money off of it. Sure the network websites are providing content in which the advertisers pay a set amount to insert their commercials at designated points, but it’s on the computer! Because of this, the networks are not willing to pay the writers for showing what are essentially re-runs, despite the fact that the networks are contractually obligated to pay the writers residuals (but only on TV!).

It comes down to money. The networks can afford to wait this out. While the writers are striking, the networks are still making money. They do not care about content, quality, or their employees. Television shows are nothing more than vehicles for advertisements. Keep in mind that the writers are only asking for a percentage of online revenue. If the AMPTP (Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers) agrees to this and the entire internet blows up tomorrow, completely destroying their online revenue stream, they’re not on the hook for any cash. 2.5% of zero is still zero and the writers are no worse off than they are now.

TV fans can’t sit in on the negotiations. The only way we can help end this strike is by making ourselves heard and hitting the networks where it hurts: in their pockets. How do we do that? By not watching TV on the internet. Don’t watch the streaming shows on the network websites. Don’t download them from iTunes. Don’t download them from Amazon Unbox. Let the networks know that you are not going to show confidence in what they call an “experimental” medium until the writers get a fair deal. When the scripted shows go off the air, do not watch the mindless reality shows staffed with non-WGA eligible writers with which they will be replaced. If the networks aren’t getting the eyeballs, they’re not going to get the ad dollars.

In short, do not let the networks treat you like a mindless consumer. NBC Universal and its partners are readying Hulu’s launch. When that happens, they will not be limited to showing current episodes of their prime-time shows. They’re reaching into the vault and dusting off old favorites that haven’t been making them money for years. Shows like Doogie Howser, MD are going to be shown in and ad-supported format on the internet. If the episodes were being rerun on television, the writers would be making residuals. On Hulu, they will make nothing.

People deserve to be paid for their work. TV fans deserve quality programming. While they are hurting themselves in the short-run, the writers are standing up for themselves by striking. By boycotting internet programming, we’ll be doing the same. Right now, the networks have no incentive to end the strike. If you want your shows back, it’s time to give them one.