Probably just until January, Kevin. Although, if the strike is resolved very early in the year, they can probably get some new stuff on for next season. Pilots are shot in march and April. The scripts need to be ready well before then.

It's been reported in the press they get about 50%

cough70%cough

Thanks, Sean (and Tamara).

I find myself wondering if networks might try and invest more in midseason by pushing shows back to then. It's never been very successful before, but I suppose if the audience are new drama starved it could work.

Question for all...

I'm going through my big box o' fandom and I have some copies of old Varietys that included our ads (Stand Up for Buffy, The Body Emmy Ad, Save FF). Some are signed and some are not signed, though I could probably get signatures on the unsigned ones.

Do you think those are cool raffle prizes? I mean, SUfB was eight and a half YEARS ago.

ETA: Jesus, I feel old.

I think those would be cool, especially for people who participated in the campaigns.

Allyson, are you doing the raffle like Sars, where people get to pick their prize?

I don't think we'd thought of that, P-C. It's not a bad idea. I'll have to talk to Allyson about it.

And sheesh. I have stuff I didn't even know I had. I don't even know where some of this came from. Scripts with fancy covers for "Prophecy Girl" and "When She Was Bad." Where did I get these?

I think those are cool also.

I managed to dig up some figures on iTunes for NBC Universal their CEO put in the media. During the twelve month period over 2006 they say they made $14m from video on iTunes. Apple says NBC hold (well, held) 40% of the video sales. Assuming the revenues are split equally across all the media partners, that's about $38m a year studios are receiving from iTunes for video. There will be some cost involved in that - staff to do the uploading process to Apple, that kind of thing, legal agreements for online streaming, song licensing etc, but I'd imagine they will be fairly minimal.

So, yeah, I can see why they're playing with Hulu and the like as the numbers are reasonably small (tiny?) right now, so if they want to cut Apple out of the equation and maintain distribution control, now is the time to try.

I don't think we'd thought of that, P-C. It's not a bad idea. I'll have to talk to Allyson about it.

I think it's a good system especially because of the variety of prizes being offered. Winning something you have no interest in is no fun, and it means the prize, which could have been appreciated by another winner, sort of goes to waste. People aren't bidding on what they want, but they surely have their eyes on specific things.

I have a bunch of Hearst stickers and little Desmond Fellows fliers from the Veronica Mars set, but I don't think, even collectively, they would amount to the coolness of anything else being offered. Also, shit, if I'd thought of this earlier, I could have brought some of that stuff with me and just given it to you when I come to L.A. I always meant to get them out to people who'd appreciate them.

Kristen, I can be certain that there would be much interest in "Save Firefly" anything.

Heh. There would be interest in a dead firefly, if Nathan Fillion had touched it.