Stocks Are Holding Steady

The writers' strike is not affecting share prices.

Eight weeks into the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike, Wall Street is unfazed. The value CBS Corporation's stock is essentially the same now as it was when the strike began on November 5. Even though the home of the CSI franchise is largely dependent on television, things have not been frantic on the stock market. Shows such as CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and its spinoffs do well in repeats, and the network has news and reality shows to bolster the schedule. As CSI Files reported earlier this month, CBS also plans to borrow shows from its sister network, Showtime, such as the popular series Dexter.

Both the WGA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) have utilized statistics to bolster their arguments recently. The WGA cited a poll that was done by USA Today/Gallup which stated that 60% of those asked supported the writers while only 14% were on the producers' side. The same poll also claimed that 38% of the people interviewed would watch less television when the shows were all forced to go into repeats.

In response, the AMPTP pointed to the numbers on an internet survey from TNS. According to the numbers, 74% of Americans claimed that the strike would not affect their viewing habits, and only 22% claimed that they would watch less television. The TNS survey, which was taken earlier than the one done by USA Today/Gallup, stated that 34% of those polled sided with the writers while 2% supported the AMPTP. A further 20% didn't support the strike because they didn't know the reason behind the writers' actions.

More information about the lack of activity on the stock market can be found on Variety's website. The statistics used by both sides are from an article on Variety.

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