Feel our wrath

The Globe and Mail reports that the writers strike, currently preventing TV networks from producing new content, may march on until January. It is expected to affect both Canadian and US-based stations.

On the heels of stale content, advertisers may seek compensation — in the form of rebates — for lower ratings resulting from reruns.

Sunni Boot of Zenith Optimedia described her firm's attempts to move from ad spend onto reruns to other shows, online cable networks and other media vehicles. And she jokingly asserted plans to "drink heavily over the Christmas period," remarking, "It's a nightmare, really. We have to do everything all over again.”

In 1988, a 22-week Hollywood strike made prime US-based ratings plummet by 10 percent. In the process, networks bled over $500 million in free commercial time and cash payments to disgruntled advertisers.

But the breadth of media upon which network shows appear today may make strike-associated risks more grim, this time around. Compensation to advertisers in the States are estimated to hit $1 billion.