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8/12/2019 2014 TV Pilot Study.pdf
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201 Production Report
2014, FilmL.A. Research
6255 W. Sunset Blvd., 12th Floor Los Angeles, CA 90028 213.977.8600 www.filmla.com
EMBARGO: Hold until 12:00 p.m. PDT on
Tuesday, 6/24/14
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8/12/2019 2014 TV Pilot Study.pdf
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About this Report
ThisreportistheproductofindependentresearchconductedbyFilmL.A,Inc.FilmL.A.isLosAngeles
regionalfilmoffice,servingtheCityandCountyofLosAngelesandaneverincreasingrosteroflocal
municipalities.Providingstreamlinedpermitprocessing,comprehensivecommunityrelations,marketing
services,filmpolicyanalysisandmoretothesejurisdictions,FilmL.A.workstoattractandretainfilm
productioninGreaterLosAngeles.
IntegraltoFilmL.A.sworkisongoingresearchintothebenefitsthatlocalfilmingbringstotheLos
Angelesregion.
To
that
end,
the
company
maintains
an
internal
research
division
devoted
to
the
production,collectionanddisseminationofinformationregardingtheU.S.filmproductioneconomy.
OnbehalfofeveryoneatFilmL.A.andthosewhodependonlocalentertainmentproductionfortheir
livelihoods,wethankyouforyourinterestinthisreport.Ifyouhaveanyquestionsaboutthecontent
herein,theauthorswelcomeyourinquiries.
AdrianMcDonald,LeadResearchAnalyst
CorinaSandru,ResearchAnalyst
FilmL.A.Research
6255W.SunsetBlvd.,12thFloor
Hollywood,CA90028
213.977.8636
www.filmla.com
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1
EachyearbetweenJanuaryandApril,LosAngelesresidentsobserveamarkedincreaseinlocalon
locationfilming. Newtelevisionpilots,producedinanticipationofMayscreeningsfortelevisionadvertisers,join
continuingTVseries,featurefilmsandcommercialprojectsincompetitionfortalent,crews,stagespaceand
soughtafterlocations.
However,LosAngelesisn'ttheonlyplaceinNorthAmericahostingpilotproduction. Otherjurisdictions,
mostnotably
the
City
of
New
York,
the
Vancouver
area
and
the
City
of
Toronto,
have
established
themselves
as
strongcompetitorsforthislucrativepartofHollywoodsbusinesstradition. Morerecently,Atlanta,Georgiahas
emergedasastrongcontenderforpilotproductions,surpassingevenTorontointotalnumberofpilotsproduced
for2014.
FilmL.A.thenotforprofitorganizationthatcoordinatespermitsforfilmedentertainmentshoton
locationintheCityofLosAngeles,unincorporatedpartsofLosAngelesCountyandotherlocaljurisdictions
recentlyupdateditsongoingannualstudyoftelevisionpilotsinproduction.
FilmL.A.sofficialcountshowsthat203broadcast,cableandnewmediatelevisionpilotswereproduced
duringthe13/14developmentcycle,makingthepastyearthemostproductiveonrecordbyalargemargin.Out
ofthose203televisionpilots,atotalof90projectswerefilmedintheLosAngelesregion.
Whilethis
is
the
fourth
largest
annual
pilot
tally
in
Los
Angeles
history,
it
is
still
11
fewer
than
L.A.
handledduringitspeakyearof'04/'05. Intermsofoverallmarketshare,L.A.capturedjust44percentofallpilots
inthecurrentcycle. ThisisthelowestonrecordbyawidemarginandthefirsttimethatL.A.smarketsharehas
fallenbelow50percent. Needlesstosay,itisaveryfarcryfromL.A.srecord82percentsharein06/07.
TVDramas
In13/14,theLosAngelesregioncapturedjust17percentofalltelevisiondramapilots.Thisrepresentsa
staggeringdeclineof73percentfromthepeakin06/07,whenL.A.sdramasharewasacommanding63percent.
Foronehourdramapilots,the13/14cycleisalsoL.A.slowestmarketshareonrecordandthefirsttimethe
regionspilotproductionsharehasdippedbelow20percent.
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Inthe12/13cycle,theratioofdramapilotsfilmedoutsideL.A.wasover4to1. Duringtheprevious
threedevelopmentcycles(09/1011/12),dramapilotswerefilmedoutsidetheL.A.regionbyaratioofmore
than2to1. Alarmingly,theseratiosnowseemrosycomparedtothe13/14cycle,inwhichtheratioofdrama
pilotsfilmedoutsideL.A.wasalmost5to1.
TVComedies
L.A.sshareofcomedypilotsproducedin13/14was76percent,downfrom83percentintheprevious
cycleandsubstantiallysmallerthanits91percentsharein11/12. ThenumberofcomedypilotsproducedinL.A.
was71in13/14comparedto75inthepreviouscycle.
L.A.sstatusasthepremierpilotproductioncentercontinuestohingeonindustrywillingnesstoproduce
comedyprojectsinLosAngeles. Untilrecently,generousfilmincentivesinotherlocationshavenotbeenas
successfulatsiphoningcomedyproductionfromL.A. AnemergingexceptiontothatruleisNewYork,whichhas
seenremarkablegrowth(discussedlaterinthisreport). However,with11comedypilotsproducedinNewYork,it
remainsaverydistantsecondtoLosAngeles.
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Multicamera,stageboundcomedies,whichL.A.hasbeenabletoretainingreatnumbers,costupto$1.5
milliontoproduceperepisode.In13/14,therewere40multicamerapilotsproduced(37inL.A.). By
comparison,in12/13,therewere40multicamerapilotsproduced(36inL.A.).Creativereasons,asopposedto
economicreasons,presentlykeeptheseproductionsinLosAngeles.
Singlecameracomediesthatregularlyshootonlocationcostslightlymoretomakeatupto$2.0million
perepisode.
In
13/14,
there
were
52
single
camera
pilots
produced
(33
in
L.A.).
By
comparison,
in
12/13,
there
were50singlecamerapilotsproduced(39inL.A.).
PilotProductionLocations
Duringthe13/14developmentcycle,90televisionpilotswerefilmedonLosAngelesstreetsand
stages. However,113otherpilotsofwhich91werecovetedonehourdramaprojectswereproduced
outsidetheregionincompetingjurisdictions. Inthepreviousdevelopmentcycle,only90totalpilotswere
producedoutsidetheregion.
AfterL.A.,thetopfourcompetitorsforpilotproductionin13/14wereNewYork(35pilots),Vancouver
(17pilots),Atlanta(12pilots)andToronto(8pilots). TrailingthetopfourwastheStateofTexas,whichhostedfive
totalpilots
(Austin:
3;
Dallas:
2).
Theavailabilityoffinancialproductionincentivesandproductioninfrastructurearekeyfactors
influencingwherepilotproducerschoosetofilm. Asinprioryears,someformoffilmproductionincentivewas
availableineveryoneofthenonCalifornialocationsusedduringthe13/14developmentcycle. Indeed,the
availability
of
generous
financial
incentives
and
the
availability
of
an
established
and/or
rapidly
growing
production
infrastructureproveddecisivefortwoofL.A.stopcompetitors:NewYork&Georgia.
NewYork
In2009,theStateofNewYorkincreasedtheamountofavailablefundsunderthestatesfilmtaxcredit
programtoover$400million. Theincreasedfundingbecamenecessaryduetothegreatlyincreaseddemandand
popularityoftheprogramaftertherateoftheincentiveinNewYorkwasincreasedfrom10percentto30percent
inlate2008.
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Inthe09/10developmentcycle,theyearbeforeitsprogramtookeffect,justfivetotalpilotswere
producedinNewYork. Theverynextyear,duringthe10/11developmentcycle,thenumberofpilotsproduced
inNewYorkexplodedto17,a240percentincreaseovertheprioryear. Withthe35totalpilotsproducedinNew
Yorkduringthe13/14cycle,NewYorkhasseenthevolumeoftotalpilotsproducedwithinitsbordersincreaseby
600percentsincethestateincreasedtherateandavailabilityofitsfilmtaxcreditprogram.
Whenitcomestoonehourdramapilots,thegrowthinNewYorksincethestateincreaseditsincentiveis
evenmoredramatic. In09/10,justtwoonehourdramapilotsfilmedinNewYork. Duringthemostrecent
cycle,thatnumberhadclimbedtoarecordhighof24onehourdramasin13/14. Fortheeconomically lucrative
onehournetworkdramas(whichtypicallyshoottwiceasmanyepisodeseachseasoncomparedtocable),New
Yorkwentfromhostingzeronetworkdramapilotsin09/10to12inthe13/14cycle. Bycomparison,Los
Angelessawthenumberofonehournetworkpilotsdeclinefrom14tojustsevenduringthesameperiod,a50
percentdecline.
The13/14cyclealsomarksanothermilestoneforNewYork. Forthefirsttimeonrecord,NewYork
hostedmoreonehourdramapilotsthanCalifornia. TheEmpireStatehosted24onehourdramapilotscompared
tojust19forLosAngeles.
NewYorkhasalsoseenremarkablegrowthinthenumberofcomedypilotsproducedinthestate. During
the13/14developmentcycle,comedypilotproductionactivityinNewYorkincreased83percentovertheprior
year,with11comedypilotsproducedintheEmpireState.
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Moreimportantly,14ofthe17comedypilotsproducedinNewYorkoverthelasttwoyearshavebeenfor
covetedsingle
camera
shows,
which
cost
more
to
produce
than
multi
camera
comedies.
Georgia
In2008,theStateofGeorgiaenactedanuncappedfilmtaxcreditprogramthatcoversupto30percentof
productionexpendituresincurredwithinthestate. AsinNewYork,Georgiasawasignificantincreasein
productionspendingwithinitsborders,includinganincreaseinthenumberofTVpilotsshotthere. Inthe08/09
developmentcycle,whichoccurredjustbeforethenewincentivebegantotakeeffect,justonepilotwasproduced
inthePeachState. Thefollowingyear,however,withthenewincentiveinfulleffect,thenumberofpilotsshotin
Georgiaquadrupled. Duringthe13/14cycle,atotalof12pilotsfilmedinGeorgia,anincreaseof1,100percent
overthe08/09cyclewhenGeorgiaenacteditslargeincentive.
Inadditiontoitsgenerousuncappedincentiveprogram,Georgiahasbeenaggressivelybuildingupits
nativefilminfrastructure. Filmmaker(andGeorgianative)TylerPerrysstudiosarecurrentlyundergoingamassive
expansionthatwillnearlydoubletheircurrent38acres. UnitedKingdombasedPinewoodStudiosisalso
expandingitspresenceinGeorgiaandcurrentlyoperatessixstateoftheartsoundstagesatits288acrecampus,
whereithasplanstobuildatleastsixmore. Morerecently,GeorgiaGovernorNathanDealhasexpressedinterest
inhaving1,000ormoreacresoflandinGeorgiaconvertedintouseforamovieranchsimilartothosefoundin
SouthernCalifornia.
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Georgiasgenerousincentiveandinvestmentininfrastructurearehavingaprofoundeffectonthe
popularityofthestateasafilmingdestination. Lastyear,GeorgiaovertookLouisianaasthethirdlargestUSstate
intotalproductionspending.
DigitalPlatformsReshapingTelevisionLandscape
Injust
the
last
several
years,
non
traditional
programming
available
from
online
services
like
Amazon
and
Netflixhasbegunalteringhowmoretraditionaltelevisionbroadcasteracquireanddelivercontent.
InAugust2013,actorKevinSpacey,thestarofNetflixshitseriesHouseofCards,gaveaspeechattheEdinburghTelevisionFestivalinwhichhepredicteddifferentiationbetweencontentdeliveryplatformswouldend
withinadecade:
Onewaythatourindustrymightfailtoadapttothecontinuallyshiftingsandsistokeepadogmatic
differentiationintheirmindsbetweenvariousmedia separatingfilmandTVandminiseriesand
webisodesandhoweverelseyoumightwanttolabelnarrativeformats...Ipredictthatinthenextdecade
ortwo,anydifferentiationbetweentheseformats theseplatforms willfallaway.
Is13hourswatchedasonecinematicwholereallyanydifferentthanafilm?Dowedefinefilmbybeing
somethingtwo
hours
or
less?
Surely
it
goes
deeper
than
that.
If
you
are
watching
afilm
on
your
television,
isitnolongerafilmbecauseyou'renotwatchingitinthetheater?IfyouwatchaTVshowonyouriPadis
itnolongeraTVshow?Thedeviceandlengthareirrelevant.Thelabelsareuseless exceptperhapsto
agentsandmanagersandlawyerswhousetheselabelstoconductbusinessdeals.Forkidsgrowingup
nowtheresnodifferencewatchingAvataronaniPadorwatchingYouTubeonaTVandwatchingGameofThronesontheircomputer.It'sallcontent.It'sallstory.Inthe2010/11season,justsixdigitalserieswerebeingproducedfornontraditionaldigitalplatforms.
Thegrowthinthenumberofdigitalseries1thatbeganairingsincethattimehasbeenremarkable:
1Digital Platforms include: Amazon, AOL, Crackle, Hulu, MSN, Netflix, Playstation, XBOX, Yahoo, YouTube(Source: Baseline Studio Systems)
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Amazon
In13/14,AmazonStudiosproducedsevenliveactionpilots(plusanadditionalthreeanimated)forits
AmazonPrimesubscriptionstreamingservice,justonemorethanthesixliveactionpilotsthestudioproducedin
thepreviouscycle. However,Amazonpickedupfiveofthesevenliveactionpilotsproducedin13/14,compared
tojusttwo(ofsix)inthepreviouscycle. Amazonselectswhichpilotsreceivefullseriesordersbasedinlargepart
onthe
number
of
times
ashow
is
streamed
and
the
percentage
of
viewers
who
finish
the
pilot.
Unlike
network
television,onAmazontherearenocommercialinterruptionsandadvertiserinfluenceiseffectivelytakenoutof
theequation.
TheresponsefromviewersappearstobeverypromisingforAmazon. AccordingtoAmazon,thenumber
ofstreamsforeachpilotproducedinthe13/14cycleincreasedby100percentcomparedtolastyear.Some
industryobserverspointtoarumoreddoublingofAmazonPrimessubscriberbaseoverthepastyear,whichcould
helpexplainwhythenumberofviewsforpilotsthisyeardoubledaswell.Whilethatisavalidexplanation,its
worthnotingthatthefivepilotsproducedforchildrensawthenumberofstreamsincreaseby200percentover
lastyear. AmazonistightlyguardedaboutrevealingexactlyhowmanysubscribersAmazonPrimehas,but
unofficialestimatesplaceitaround20million.
ItspossibletheincreasedsubscriberbaseforAmazonPrimeincludedmorefamilieswithchildren. It
couldalso
reflect
agenerational
reality
that
children,
unlike
their
parents,
are
much
more
likely
to
consume
contentvianontraditionalplatformsandviewingdevices. ItsalsopossiblethenumberofsubscriberstoAmazon
increasedbecauseofthegrowingamountoforiginalcontentbeingproducedoutsidetraditionaltelevision
broadcastingandthemannerinwhichcontentisdelivered.
Netflix
UnlikeAmazon,theoriginalprogrammingonNetflixhasallconsistedofstraighttoseriesorders. Rather
thanreleaseepisodesonaweeklybasisliketraditionalnetworks,Netflixmakesallepisodesavailableatonetime,
whichalsotakesadvertisersoutoftheequation.
Ratherthanmakeviewerstuneinweekly,Netflixallowsviewerstobingeonanentireseasonof
episodesas
quickly
as
they
please.
Moreover,
because
there
are
no
commercial
interruptions
or
gaps
between
episodes,Netflixallowsscreenwriterstocontrolthepaceandflowofthestory,avoidingcommercialinterruptions
ortheneedforweeklycliffhangers. TheNetflixmodelappearstobeahitwithviewers.
WhenNetflixrolledoutitsonlinestreamingservicein2008,thecompanyhad8.2millionsubscribers. By
thecloseof2010,thenumberofsubscribershadsoaredtoalmost20million. Bytheendof2013,thecompany
hadmorethan40millionsubscribersworldwide,includingover33millionintheU.S.and9.7millionoverseas
(comparedtolessthanonemillioninternationalsubscribersinearly2011). In2011,Netflixbeganacquiring
originalcontenttoairexclusivelyonitsstreamingsubscriptionservice,anditsfirstoriginalseries,Lillyhammer,
wasreleasedin2012. In2013,Netflixaddedfivemoreseriesoforiginalcontent,includinghitserieslikeHouseofCardsandOrangeistheNewBlack. Attheendof2014,Netflixwillhaveatotalof11originalseries(includingthreeanimatedshows). In2015,Netflixplanstoaddsevenmoreseriestoitsoriginalcontentlineup,includingthe
firstof60episodesinaseriesproducedbyDisneyfeaturingMarvelsuperheroes.
Netflixdemandshighqualityforitsoriginalcontentandhasbeenwillingtopaytopdollartogetit. Total
spendinginMarylandforthefirstthreeseasonsofHouseofCardsisexpectedtoexceed$173million. MarvelStudiosisexpectedtospend$200millioninNewYork,whereall60episodesofitsfoursuperheroserieswillbe
filmed. NewYorkalsobenefitsfromroughly$4millionspentmakingeachepisodeofOrangeistheNewBlack,foratotalof$104millioninitsfirsttwoseasons.
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Project Location Spending
HouseofCards(S1S3) Maryland $173millionMarvelSuperheroSeries NewYork $200million
OrangeistheNewBlack(S1S2) NewYork $104millionPresumeforamomentthatsuchseriescouldhavebeenmadeinCalifornia,wereincentivesinplaceto
bringthem
here.
The
lost
opportunity
to
the
California
economy
from
just
these
three
Netflix
series
approaches
$475million.
TheMainstreamingofStraighttoSeriesProduction
Astheinitialepisodeofaproposedtelevisionseries,manypilotsaremade,butonlyafewwilleverbe
showntoviewersonbroadcastorcabletelevision. Beforeapilotcanbegreenlightedforseries,itmustfirstbe
deemedmarketabletotelevisionadvertisersandforeigndistributors.
Fordecades,broadcastnetworkshavecourtedadvertisersinanexpensiveandseasonallydriven
upfrontsprocess. EveryyearinlateMay,advertiserspreviewtheshowsthatwillgoontobeairedonbroadcast
networksinthefallorearlythefollowingyearasmidseasonreplacements.
Cablenetworksalsoscreenavarietyofscriptedcontent. Unlikenetworkpilots,cablepilotsareproduced
yearroundandhaveincreasedinnumbertocontributemightilytodevelopmentcycleyields. Newcableseries
debutthroughouttheyear.
Notonlyhavethetraditionalbroadcastandcabletelevisionnetworksbeguntorespondtothepresence
ofnewcompetitors,itappearstheyareadaptingtheirownbusinessmodelstosuit. Accordingtotheformer
chairmanofentertainmentatFoxBroadcasting,KevinReillyattheTelevisionCriticsAssociationinJanuary,the
gamehadalreadychangedandtherewasadesireatthenetworktoplaybynewrules. AsofJanuary2014,Fox
announcedtotheworldthatitwouldskippilotproductionaltogether:
WevebeentryingtodoawaywithpilotseasonforalongtimeatFox. Thebroadcastschedulingprocess
wasbuiltforadifferenterawhentherewerethreenetworksthathadanearmonopoly.Wedontlivein
thatage
anymore.
Iftheindustryhasenteredadifferentera,whatdoesthatmeanfortelevisionshowrunners? As
screenwriterTravisBeahhamtoldtheLosAngelesTimesearlierthisyear,theresultingcreativefreedomcouldhelpmakeunusualshowconceptsmorecommerciallyviable:
AfewyearsagoFoxpassedonmakingapilotfortheproposedseriesbyscreenwriterTravisBeacham,
whichseemedlikethekissofdeath...Thisyear,however,Foxdecidedtotaketheseries.Butitdidn'tjust
orderapilotitordered13episodes.
Thebiggestadvantageofaseriesorderisthatitgivesusacrucialheadstartonthesortofpreparationit
takestorealizeaworldaslushandcomplexasthis,BeachamtoldTheTimesinanemail.It'shardtoinvestthatkindofeffortinapilotthatmayormaynotseethelightofday.Withoutaseriescommitment,
it'salmostimpossibleforsomethinglikeHieroglyphtohappen.
Ifadaptingtoaneweraoftelevisionbroadcastingmeansadoptingthepracticeoforderingmoreshows
straighttoseries,areviewofFilmL.A.shistoricaldatasuggeststhe13/14cyclemarksyearoneofthenewera.
Atotalof38network,cableandnewmediashowswereorderedstraighttoseriesinthe13/14cycle,whichis
morethandoublethecombinedtotalofthethreepreviousdevelopmentcycles.
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Lookingatthetrendsforbothcategoriesindividuallyrevealsotherpatterns. Whenitcomestodrama,
cablenetworkshavebeenmoreaggressivethanbroadcastnetworksineachofthelastfourcycles. Inthethree
cyclespriorto13/14,thenumberofdramasorderedstraighttoseriesforcableoutpacednetworkordersbya71
margin. Whereasinthe13/14cycle,cableordersstilloutpacednetworkorders,butonlybya21margin. The20
cabledramaordersin13/14representa122percentincreaseoverthepriorcycle. Bycomparison,the10
networkdrama
orders
in
13/14
represent
a400
percent
increase
over
the
prior
two
cycles
combined.
Whenitcomestocomedy,neithercablenorbroadcastnetworksplacedapriorityonorderingshows
straighttoseriespriorto13/14,whenalmostthreetimesasmanycomedieswereorderedthanthepriorthree
cyclescombined. Comedystraighttoseriesordersforcableoutpacednetworkordersbynearlya31margin.
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PilotsEconomicImportance
Pilotproductionisworthyofstudybecausetheactivitycreatessignificanteconomicbenefitsforthe
hostingregion. Accordingtoindustrysources,theaverageonehourdramapilotcandirectlyemploy150230
peopleforthedurationoftheproject.
Typicalpilotproductioncosts,havingrisenovertheyears,nowaverageabout$2million(forcomedy
pilots)and$6millionto$8million(fordramapilots). Presentations,whicharesometimesmadeinlieuofpilots,
costupto40percentlesstoproducethanfulllengthpilots.
Basedonthesefigures,FilmL.A.estimatesthatapproximately$290millionwasspentontelevisionpilot
productioninLosAngelesduringthe13/14developmentcycle,anincreaseoverthe$278millionspentinL.A.
duringthepreviouscycle.2 Thisisroughly30percentofthetotalamountspentbyproducersinalllocations.
2While there were six fewer pilots producing in L.A. during the 13/14 cycle, total spending increased due anincrease in the estimated cost to produce a one-hour drama. During the previous cycle, the average cost for a dramapilot was $5.5 million.
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RunawaySeriesProduction
Pilotproducersongoingwanderlustintroducesapairofrelatedconcernsforthosewhoworkintelevision
inL.A. Ononehand,lostproductionsharecarrieswithitthethreatofdiminishedpilotseasonspending. But
another,moreserious,concernisthattheonetimelossofapilotcaneasilyleadtothelossofapromisingseries.
Historically,pilots
made
in
Los
Angeles
were
highly
likely
to
stay
in
the
region
ifpicked
up
for
series
production. Inrecentyears,however,agrowingnumberofproductionshavebeguntobuckthistrend. Evena
pilotshotinL.A.forashowthatissetinL.A.hasnoguaranteeofstayinginL.A.forseries.
AfterfilmingthepilotepisodeforUSAsSouthernCaliforniasetdramaGracelandinL.A.,producers
relocatedtheseriestoFloridaafteritfailedtoreceivetheCaliforniaFilm&TelevisionTaxCredit. Asaresult,the
remaining11episodesforGracelandsfirstseasonfilmedinFlorida. Onaverage,Gracelandspentmorethan
$151,000foreachdayofproductioninMiami. ThisrepresentsalosstoCaliforniaofmorethan$19million,
including$10.2millionspentonwages,forjustthisoneshow. Unfortunately,GracelandwasntCaliforniasonly
recentseriesloss.
PlanswererecentlyannouncedtorelocateTheWhispers,anetworkdramaseries,toVancouverafterfilmingthepilotinL.A. ThetwopartpilotepisodefortheNCISspinoff,NCIS:NewOrleans,reportedlyspentthebulk
of
its
$10.7
million
budget
in
L.A.,
but
the
series
is
relocating
to
New
Orleans.
While
for
the
latter
there
are
obviouscreativeconsiderationsinplay,allpriorseriesintheNCISfranchisehavebeenL.A.based,andproducers
pointtoLouisianasgeneroustaxcreditprogramasanimportantfactorindeterminingtheirchoiceoflocation.
Thiscomesontheheelsof losingAmericanHorrorStory,anothercovetedonehourdrama,toLouisianaaftertheshowfilmeditsfirsttwoseasonsinLosAngeles. TheonlyreasonAmericanHorrorStorydidnotrelocateafterseasononeisthatproducerswerehopingseasontwowouldmakeitoffthewaitinglistfortheCaliforniaFilm
&TelevisionTaxCredit. Unfortunately,thegambledidnotpayoffandtheshow,whichspendsroughly$60million
makingeachseason,movedtoNewOrleans.
FromPilottoSeriesProduction
Today,the
availability
of
production
incentives
and
established
production
infrastructure
outside
Los
Angelesmakeitpossibletofilmseriesinotherplaces. Thisfact,combinedwithnetworkdecisionsaboutwhich
showstopickuporcancelinagivenyear,posesaseriousthreattoestablishedproductioncenterslikeLos
Angeles.
Inanefforttohelpquantifythisproblem,FilmL.A.researchersanalyzednewandcontinuingseries
pickupseachyearfromthe2010/2011fallviewingseasontotheforthcoming2014/15fallviewingseasonon
majorbroadcastnetworksduringprimetime.Thisanalysisexcludedcableandwebproductions,becauseoftheir
irregularseriesstartpatterns,aswellasreality,animatedandnonscriptedbroadcastingsuchassportsandnews
programming.
Threeyearsago,the2012/2013seasonmarkedthefirsttimeduringFilmL.A.songoingstudyinwhich
L.A.accountedforlessthan50percentofnetworkscreentimedevotedtoprimetimescripteddramas. Sincethen,
L.A.sshare
of
network
screen
time
devoted
to
dramas
has
fallen
below
40
percent
for
the
second
time
in
arow
headingintothisfall.
Atthebeginningofthe2013/2014fallviewingseason,L.A.sshareofnetworkscreentimedevotedto
primetimescripteddramasfellbelow40percent,arecordlow. Inall,viewerslastfallwereexposedto38L.A.
basedshows(15dramas,23comedies). Viewerswerealsoexposedto27showsfilmedoutsidetheregion(26
dramas,1comedy).
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Bythebeginningofthe2014/2015fallviewingseason,L.A.sshareofnetworkscreentimedevotedto
primetimescripteddramaswill,forthesecondyearinarow,againfallbelow40percent. Inall,viewerswillbe
exposedto36L.A.basedshows(14dramas,22comedies). Theywillalsobeexposedto23shows(alldramas)
filmedoutsidetheregion.
IsThereAnyGoodNews?
Fortheforthcomingfallseason,nineof29newnetworkdramasserieswillfilminLosAngeles. Whilethis
maysoundlikebleaknews,itstillrepresentsaremarkablerecoveryconsideringthelasttwoyears. Lastfall,just
fiveof26newnetworkdramaseriesfilmedinL.A.,andonlytwoof22newnetworkdramasseriesfilmedinL.A.
duringthepriorcycle.
TheCaliforniaFilm&TelevisionTaxCreditprogramhashelpedreverseatinyamountofrunaway
production. In2014,theprogramhelpedrelocateseventelevisionseriesthatfilmedtheirpilotepisodesand/or
priorseasonsfromoutsideofthestate. Asaresult,thesesevenproductionswillspendmorethan$170millionin
thestateandsustainover30,000full&parttimepositionsthisyear.
Production
Background&
Standins
Cast
Crew QualifiedSpending Prior
Location
DeliveranceCreek 3,450 120 200 $23,425,111 Austin,TX(Pilot)Franklin&Bash 3,580 261 142 $20,128,375 Atlanta,GA(Pilot)Justified 3,705 331 140 $29,457,855 Pennsylvania(Pilot)Perception 4,554 179 207 $27,748,988 Toronto,ON(Pilot)PrettyLittleLiars 10,500 313 130 $40,181,676 Vancouver,BC(Pilot)TeenWolf 3,570 20 130 $24,069,925 Atlanta,GA(Pilot,
Season1)
LetsStayTogether 480 10 86 $5,6645,55 Atlanta,GA(Season14)
Itsworth
noting
that
two
of
these
productions,
(TeenWolf&LetsStayTogether)relocatedafterfilming
priorseasonsinGeorgia,wheretheincentiveisalmostdoublewhatCaliforniaoffers. Moreover,LetsStayTogetherfilmeditspilotepisodeinCaliforniabeforemovingtheshowtoGeorgiaandonlyrelocatedtobacktoLos
AngelesafteritwasoneoftheluckyfewproductionsabletosecureataxcreditunderCaliforniascurrent
program. Similarly,hadtherebeenenoughtaxcreditstopreventashowlikeAmericanHorrorStoryfromgettingwaitlisted,itmighthavepreventedtheshowfrommovingtoLouisiana(whichoffersthesameamountasGeorgia).
Alsoofnote,noneofthetelevisionseriesthathavereceivedtheCaliforniaFilm&TelevisionTaxCredit
sincetheprogramsinceptionin2009haveeverrelocatedtoanotherjurisdictionoutsideofthestate. Oncea
-
8/12/2019 2014 TV Pilot Study.pdf
15/15
13
seriesgetstheCaliforniataxcredit,theshowstaysinthestate. Similarly,everyseriesthathasfilmedpriorseasons
orpilotepisodesoutsideofthestatehasrelocatedtoCaliforniauponreceivingthestatesfilmincentive.
Talk,Talent&VarietyinL.A.
Thoughnotafocusofthisreport,othersoundstagereliantfacetsofLosAngelestelevisionproduction
industryare
worthy
of
mention.
TheL.A.regionhostsnumeroustelevisiontalkshows,includingConan,TheLateLateShowwithCraigFerguson,JimmyKimmelLive,TheTalk,EllenandDr.Phil.
Locallyproducedgameshowsinclude,butarenotlimitedto,Jeopardy,WheelofFortune,LetsMakeaDeal,SharkTank,Wipeout,TheBiggestLoserandThePriceisRight.
TalentshowsinL.A.includeAmericanIdol,AmericasBestDanceCrew,TheVoice,TheXFactor,AmericasGotTalent,SoYouThinkYouCanDance,DancingwiththeStars,DuetsandAmericasNextTopModel.METHODOLOGY
SinceJanuary,
2005,
FilmL.A.
has
conducted
ongoing
primary
and
secondary
research
to
keep
track
of
newtelevisionpilots.
Thisreportcapturesallpilotproductions,presentations,andstraighttoseriestelevisionprojects
intendedforprimetimeviewingonmajorbroadcastandcablenetworksandpremiumwebservices.
OurlistsincludeallpilotsofwhichFilmL.A.hasbeenmadeawarethroughprimaryandsecondary
research,andforwhichaprimaryproductionlocationcouldbeverified.
Pleasenotethatitisrareforunscripted(reality)televisionseriestoproducepilots. Afewturnupineach
developmentcyclesurvey,butreportauthorsopttoexcludethemfromofficialcounts.
NOTES
1. FilmL.A.usesthewordpilotthroughoutthisstudytorefertoalloriginalscriptedpilots,shorterlengthpresentationsor
hiddenpilotscapturedduringthedevelopmentcycle.Pilotcountswithinadevelopmentcycleincludebothstagebasedand
locationbasedprojectsmadeinanylocation,ofanyrunningduration,intendedforprimetimedebutoneitherbroadcastor
cablenetworksservingU.S.audiences. Originalwebseriesareincludedforthisanalysis,butanimatedpilotproductionsarenot
counted.
2. Networksmaychoosetoskippilotandpresentationproductionandimmediatelygreenlightpromisingnewshowsfor
seriesproduction. Ratherthandiscountnewproductionoccurringanywherewithinthedevelopmentcycle,FilmL.A.includes
thefirstepisodeofthesestraighttoseriesproductionsashiddenpilotsinallofitscounts.
3. FilmL.A.definesadevelopmentcycleastheperiodleadinguptotheearliestpossibledatethatnewpilotswouldair,post
pickup. Thus,the13/14developmentcycleincludesproductionactivitythatstartsin2013andcontinuesinto2014forshow
startsat
any
time
in
2014
(or
later).
4. FilmL.A.accountsforthedifferencebetweenfullpilotandpresentationcostsinitsoverallpilotseasonspendingestimates.