TNS: Writers’ Strike Has Little Impact on American Viewing Habits

NEW YORK, December 20: According to the results of a new TNS
survey, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike has caused no impact on the
viewing habits of 74 percent of Americans, with only 22 percent of Americans
watching significantly less TV than they were before.

"While the effect of the strike has not affected
mainstream viewing habits, the decline is quickly approaching," said Don
Ryan, the VP of TNS Technology and Media at TNS North America. "We will
begin to see an overall cut in TV viewing by 10 to 20 percent in the next few
weeks, once many shows begin airing reruns of recent episodes."

The TNS study gauged the support and reaction to the WGA
strike, which has been ongoing since November 5, 2007. The study found that
almost two-thirds of Americans do not support either side in the writers’
strike. However, 34 percent do support the writers, with the West Coast being
slightly more supportive at 39 percent; only two percent support the television
producers. And nearly 20 percent of respondents do not support the strike
because they do not know why writers are striking. When taking gender into
account, men, at 38 percent, are slightly more supportive of the strike than
women.

The Internet-based study was completed the week of December
3 and is based on a representative national sample of 2,500 people aged 18 and
older using the TNS 6th Dimension Access Panel.

—By Irene Lew