Advertisers watch for TV reruns as strike starts

Chris Neel, a top executive with media-buying firm Initiative, also said networks could be forced into extensive make-goods of unsold advertising times normally set aside to sell later in the season for key cash infusions.

"If they're not able to count on that inflow of dollars, they could see some financial issues," he said.

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Overall, stockpiling and other tactics, like airing more reality programming, which does not require writing, will insulate various media conglomerates near-term.

The effect on movies will also be less obvious since studios' screenplay pipelines are well-stocked through 2008.

"There should be a minimal impact to industry revenues in the near term as CBS, Walt Disney, and News Corp and Netflix Inc..

Jacoby also said some studios could actually benefit from lower production costs in the short run, while MacKenzie said

ad rates could rise in the short-term.

"If I ran a network, I'd say to my top advertisers, 'The next eight weeks will be pretty good, but I don't know what ratings will be like after January.' All kinds of tactics are done on a daily basis to drive the highest rates," he said.