L.A.’s Post-Strike Recovery Stalls, as Reality TV Production Plummets
variety.comGene Maddaus Senior Media Writer Film and TV production declined in Los Angeles over the last three months, as the recovery from last year’s strikes has stalled.
FilmLA, which tracks production levels using location permit data, reported that overall production was down 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year.
That decline was largely driven by a 57% drop in reality TV compared to the prior year. The decline is a symptom of a global contraction in content spending, which began before the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA went on strike last year, said Philip Sokoloski, a spokesman for FilmLA. “Los Angeles is not uniquely suffering at the present time,” he said. “The contraction in content spend is going to hit all jurisdictions that rely on steady production volume.” Scripted production rebounded somewhat after the strikes, though it has hit a plateau at a level below pre-strike levels, according to the data.
Meanwhile, reality TV — which was unaffected by the strikes — has plummeted. Total production shoot days are 33% below the five-year average, according to the FilmLA data.
Read more on variety.com
