Worries Rising Over Looming Actors' Strike

The chances of Hollywood actors going on strike when their contract expires in June are about 50-50, an industry analyst said today. If they walk, it could hurt television networks more than writers' recent 100-day walkout, the Hollywood Reporter says. Studios are still reeling from the WGA strike and can't afford the hit, said the credit analyst from Standard & Poor's.

"A focus on talk and game shows would cause additional ratings loss," said the analyst, predicting that even more viewers would ditch TV for YouTube and similar venues. Worried networks are already putting off production, and some of Hollywood's biggest stars—including George Clooney, Robert de Niro, and Tom Hanks—are calling for actors' unions to kick off early negotiations, the BBC notes. (More Hollywood writers' strike stories.)