Two months into the Writers’ Guild of America (WGA) strike, the trickle-down effect is yet to be felt on Asian schedules but is already impacting the content licensing divisions of the major US studios as regional staffers take extended leave due to the lack of new inventory for sale. None of the majors contacted by Television Asia Plus were willing to comment on the writers’ strike over residual royalties. TV schedules Stateside are set to dry up with minimal episodes left of the most popular series. According to TV Guide, CSI and CSI:Miami have only one new episode left; all ten episodes of Desperate Housewives have aired, Grey’s Anatomy has only one episode and Ugly Betty has three new episodes left. The cancellation of this year’s Golden Globes ceremony, at an estimated loss of US$10million in related revenues, sees the event replaced with a news conference announcing the winners. Members of the Screen Actors’ Guild, the union representing Hollywood actors, are boycotting the Awards to show solidarity with the WGA. The strike started early November in dispute over residual royalties – for content distributed online or released on DVD. But Advertising Age predicts a healthy first quarter for News Corp. in the US – thanks to ‘strike-proof’ programs like the new season of American Idol and February’s Super Bowl, which is commanding an all time high of up to US$3million for a 30-second ad spot.