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NBC has started the painful process of issuing refunds — about $500,000 apiece — to advertisers. Why? The network is not meeting prime-time ratings projections. Something to do with a bunch of greedy, striking writers who I fully blame for the rather hurried, ramshackle conclusion of Heroes' second season. But it's hard to fault the Writers Guild when NBC, along with every other network on the planet, is making a huge push onto the Web — Hulu, NBC Direct, and other online means of stiffing the writers. But NBC isn't the only one who will be hemorrhaging cash. According to Mediaweek, ratings are so poor that most networks are out of makegoods — free ad airtime to compensate for shortfalls — and will be forced to issue refunds like NBC. Worse news: If the strike continues, NBC plans to fill its programming gaps with reality TV. YouTube's looking better and better every day.