With the Writer’s Guild of America on strike, threatening to shut down production of your favorite TV shows, some bloggers are joining the writers and taking their blogs dark to show support for the writers.
Rest assured, we here at RCC will not be joining in.
Frankly the logic behind the strike makes very little sense to me. The writers are going to sacrifice weeks of present value dollars (millions upon millions in lost salaries) to bargain for a greater share of on-line or download profits in the future.
Well, here’s the flaw in their logic. They are squandering money in their pocket now for a share of revenue from a produce that may or may not be worth anything. Currently, you can go to Itunes and download a show to your computer for $1.99. Or, some networks this season have begun to allow you to download shows for free. Miss Desperate Housewives last night? Go to abc.com and watch it anytime on your computer, and pay nothing.
So, how exactly do you get a larger share of something that may not generate revenue? It’s an awfully big risk they are taking. Maybe someone should explain to the Writer’s Guild the concept of time/value of money. The present value of a guaranteed revenue source vs. the future value of the possibility of a revenue source.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t discount the emergence of the web as a viable media delivery product, but we’re not there yet and may not be for years. How the writers see the logic in losing current money for the chase of the future dollar is beyond me.
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