Broadcast television executives are cutting out the fat in their budgets to ride out the Hollywood writers strike, according to Variety. In a sign that big media is hunkering down for a really long walkout, Fox executives were told to trim as much of their nice-to-have spending as possible, like travel and business meals.

A News Corp. spokeswoman told the entertainment trade that the thriftiness will not just be expected of the network, but of the company’s entire Fox Entertainment Group.  NBC has also cut back on the TV Critics Association press tour as part of an effort to stay fiscally “prudent.”

As for your humble TV viewers, they may be more aware of the strike than of the leadership crisis in Pakistan. A Pepperdine University study showed 84 percent of Americans are aware of the TV and film writers strike, according to the Washington Post.

(NYTimes) (WSJ)

Keep an eye on:

• Warner Music honcho Edgar Bronfman has finally admitted that the record labels effectively went to war with their customers, and warned the carriers not to do the same thing. (PaidContent )
• Blockbuster and its creative agency of record, Doner, are parting ways after nearly a decade. Doner Chairman-CEO Alan Kalter said his agency in September chose to resign the account due to a plummet in ad spending at the retailer. (AdAge )
• Most of Broadway’s theaters will remain dark until at least the weekend when owners and producers will meet for the first time with striking stagehands to try to resolve a contract dispute. (Reuters)
• Barring a resumption of talks between striking film and TV writers and the studios, the directors are likely to begin their own labor contract negotiations sometime next month. (Hollywood Reporter)

(Photo: Reuters)