Fri Feb 8, 2008 — by Rick Marshall

Michael Eisner on the End of the Writers' Strike?

Former Disney CEO says networks have reached an agreement with writers

Michael Eisner, the former CEO of Disney and current CNBC host, announced on a recent episode of "Fast Money" that the major media companies have reached an agreement with the Writers Guild of America that effectively ends the strike.

Eisner claimed that an announcement will likely happen this weekend regarding the strike's conclusion.

According to Eisner:

“They’ve made a deal, they shook hands on a deal,” he replies. "The deal is going on Saturday to the constituents (for a vote)… I think it’s impossible that they turn it down. A deal has been made and (the writers) will be back to work reasonably soon!”

As Eisner mentioned, however, any agreement must still be ratified by members of the WGA, whose West Coast and East Coast branches will meet tomorrow for a briefing on the strike. No confirmation of the "done deal" has been issued by the WGA thus far.

On the subject of how striking writers will be received once the strike is over, Eisner added:

“I think a lot of writers lost their deals and they won’t be reinstated," Eisner replies. "One of the reasons these media companies don’t have economic problems is that they cut back on these big (writer) deals….Of course the talented writers will get new deals but in the short term I think the strike was a mistake (because) it was fairly ill-timed," he says. "If there was going to be a strike I think it should have been 3 years from now when (the writers) really understood the definition of the online business and where the revenues are coming from."

Spoken like the a true former CEO of a major media company, eh?

Nikki Finke, the award-winning L.A. Weekly media columnist, claimed on her site that talks of an end to the strike are premature, and had this to say about the online buzz generated by Eisner's announcement:

Earth To Web: Eisner hasn't mattered since 2004-2005 when he was kicked to the curb by Disney and its shareholders. Or was Eisner trying to manipulate the price of all that Disney stock he owns?

Umm... Owch.

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