The vast majority of Americans know about the writers strike, and approximately one-third of the population has already changed media habits as a direct result, according to a national survey by Interpret LLC, writes MarketingCharts.

Between potential damage to the Academy Awards and falling TV viewership, advertisers may have to scramble to get their messages out, Interpret said, hinting that print and videogames could be alternative vehicles for advertisers.

"Ironically, the strike makes scripted programming more valuable than ever," Michael Dowling, CEO, Interpret said. "As top shows disappear from primetime, viewers may go back and view critically lauded TV series they missed the first time around, play more video games or watch more movies on DVD."

Some highlights of Interpret's national poll of Americans' media habits in the wake of the strike:

• The vast majority of Americans (94 percent) are aware of the writers strike.
• More than one-third of Americans (35 percent) have already changed their TV viewing habits as a direct result of the strike:
  • Three in ten (27 percent) are watching less network TV.
  • Heavy TV viewers (21+ hrs/week) are most impacted: 32 percent watch less network TV as a result.
• Key beneficiaries of this decline in TV viewing so far:
  • Watching DVD movies (43 percent watching more because of the strike
  • Reading books/magazines (38 percent)
  • Playing videogames (26 percent)
  • Watching TV shows on DVD (23 percent)
• If the networks replace first-run series with reality shows and repeats, the impact will get worse: nearly half of Americans (46 percent) say their TV viewing behavior would change.

MarketingCharts has additional findings from the study.