On Thursday, unless a last-minute agreement is reached, Hollywood's TV and movie writers are set to go on strike, their first since 1988.

Media Life readers see the strike happening, despite reports of some progress over the recent days.

In a Media Life poll last week, nearly three-fourths of respondents, 73.5 percent, answered yes to the question: Based on what you’ve seen and heard, do you think a strike will happen?

Of the remainder, 22.5 percent did not think a strike would occur, with the rest not sure.

But media buyers do not think a strike would run nearly as long as the five months it took for writers and producers to come to terms in 1988.

Asked to anticipate how long a strike would last, almost two-thirds, 63.3 percent chose less than a month. Just 10.2 percent thought it would go as long as the 1988 strike.

Media buyers are clearly siding with writers in their insistence on a share of revenue from new media forms, such as downloads, with 75.5 percent saying writers do deserve a share. Just a quarter thought the networks ought to keep it all.

Media buyers also think the networks have a lot more to lose by a strike than the writers, with 38 percent of the vote. But nearly as many, 34 percent, agree that both sides, networks and writers, would lose in a strike.

Then again, nearly a quarter, 22 percent, thought it would depend on how long a strike lasted, with presumably little loss on either side if it was settled quickly.

The sense of most observers is that the first to feel the brunt of a strike would be the late night shows, without clever writers to come up with opening monologues and jokes. So it only seemed logical to ask: Which host will be most able to ad lib it without a team of writers to come up with patter?

The winner: NBC’s Conan O’Brien, with 31.4 percent of the vote. In second, with 19.6 percent, NBC’s Jay Leno, and third, at 17.7 percent, CBS’s David Letterman. Comedy Central's Jon Stewart got a more modest 11.8 percent while Stephen Colbert got just 2 percent.

Which network would be most hurt by a strike? Likely ABC, which has a preponderance of highly rated scripted shows, say 38.8 percent of readers. After ABC would be CBS and NBC at 22.5 percent. Fox, with its emphasis on reality show "American Idol," which is not covered by the union contract, would suffer the least, at just 6 percent of the vote. Just 10.2 percent of respondents think the CW would suffer the most.

Are media planners and buyers are worked up over the threat of a strike, which could cause considerable upheaval to schedules?

With three fourths thinking a strike is likely, one might think so. Fact is, most are not.

The question: As a buyer/planner, how are you preparing for a potential strike?

Nearly half, 46.8 percent agreed with the statement: "It's business as usual until something happens to change that."

Slightly more than a quarter, 27.7 percent, agreed with this statement: "Moving forward cautiously, hoping that a settlement will be reached but being prepared to handle a strike if it comes."

Slightly fewer, 23.4 percent, were really cranking up for a strike, "advising clients to expect a major disruption and to prepare to shift spending to other media."