WGA STRIKE UPDATE: ABC Becomes Latest Network to Cut Pilot Scripts
ABC Joins CBS, Fox, The CW in Trimming Development Slates; NBC ls the Lone Holdout
By Alex Weprin -- Broadcasting & Cable, 1/25/2008 6:15:00 AM EST
ABC became the latest network to trim its batch of pilot scripts in an effort to save costs during the prolonged writers' strike.
"The ongoing strike has caused us to re-evaluate our development needs, and we've made the difficult decision to reduce the number of scripts under consideration," the network said in a statement.
Fox, CBS and The CW already announced plans to cut back on development and also dropped holding deals with a number of writers and producers.
NBC announced that it will keep its current pilot script slate, although NBC chairman Jeff Zucker hinted that long standing traditions in the industry, such as the upfront presentations and the pilot season, will not return in the form they existed before the strike.
Executives have long talked about changing the current development process, which sees the networks spending millions on pilots, only to see a scant few hit it big with viewers.
MSNBC launches in high definition June 29 following major overhauls to its New York City control room and Washington D.C. studio. View images of the new control room and screenshots of the new HD picture for dayside programming. (Photos courtesy of NBC Universal)
In this week's edition of B&C TechTalk, senior editor Glen Dickson discusses 3D HD technology, which has been generating buzz on both sides of the Atlantic this week, with a range of vendors showing stereoscopic 3D production gear at IBC and ESPN broadcasting a college football game in 3D HD to theaters around the U.S.
Telestream products are used by the world's leading media and entertainment companies and corporations for transcoding and workflow automation. Telestream helps customers transform their media for multiplatform distribution to web, mobile, DVD...
more
Akamai provides market-leading managed services for powering rich media, dynamic transactions, and enterprise applications online. Having pioneered the content delivery market one decade ago, Akamai's services have been adopted by the world's most...
more
Parks Associates is an internationally recognized market research and consulting company specializing in emerging consumer technology products and services. Founded in 1986, Parks Associates creates research capital for companies ranging from...
more
JVC U.S.A. is a division of JVC Americas Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of Victor Company of Japan, Limited. JVC is a leading developer and manufacturer of sophisticated audio and video products that use superior technologies to deliver high...
more
ESPN, Inc. is the world's leading multinational, multimedia sports entertainment company featuring a portfolio of over 50 multimedia sports assets. The company is comprised of six domestic television networks (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Classic, ESPNEWS...
more
