• Ad Age, Tuesday, November 20, 2007 11:33 AM

The writers strike has made media buyers more wary about the efficacy of TV ads. They are pondering the possibilities in the weeks ahead and in the first quarter of 2008 of possible reallocation of budgets. "The strike has clearly challenged us to approach the TV world a little differently over the next weeks," says Eric Blankfein, senior vice president-channel insights director at Horizon Media. '"We are looking to provide our clients with alternatives in reaching their audiences at a crucial time of year."

He adds that retailers are so focused on their fourth-quarter results "that we can't afford to have a drop-off in audience delivery." The strike has given buyers the impetus to look at some other categories, including cinema, radio, digital and print. Network inventory is already tight, even with the erosion of live viewing this season. With the first five weeks of the new season seeing live ratings among adults 18 to 49 down 11% on the broadcast networks.

A ratings drop will further thin out inventory as networks "still have audience delivery units they owe people for," says Steve Kalb, senior vice president-director of broadcast at Mullen.

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