What’s Streaming Worth to Writers?

WHAT'S STREAMING WORTH TO WRITERS?
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Marisa Guthrie]
The Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers waged a 100-day work stoppage over -- among other things -- the migration of television content to the Web. With the strike settled, the WGA won residuals for content streamed over the Internet beyond an "initial streaming window" of 17 days (24 days for first-year shows). But how much is this still-new revenue stream worth? More important, how much will it be worth in the future? What has irked some WGA members is that much of the viewing of streaming video is done within the 17-day window. Indeed, NBC said 78% of online viewers watch streaming video to catch up on episodes they've missed. Networks generated $120 million in ad revenue from free streaming of content online in 2007, according to an estimate from Chicago-based media buying firm Starcom USA. That’s just a fraction of the more than $9 billion spent on traditional TV advertising this season. But advertising in the online space is growing at a much faster clip. All online-video advertising -- not just the networks’ take -- doubled between 2005 and 2006, according to Accustream Media Research, up to as much as $1.3 billion last year. By 2012, online-video ad spending will exceed $7 billion, according to Forrester Research. What makes this space so attractive to advertisers -- and potentially lucrative for networks -- is the rate at which viewers recall commercial messages.
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