Contact: Philip Sokoloski Danielle Walker

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New York Surpasses Los Angeles in Attracting New TV Drama Pilots
Los Angeles Annual Pilot Production Share Slips to 44 Percent A New Low
LOS ANGELES June 24, 2014 FilmL.A., the not-for-profit film office serving the
Greater Los Angeles Region, today announced the release of a new report prepared by
its research division. The 2014 Television Pilot Production Report provides updated
insight into L.A.s ongoing loss of new television pilot projects and promising series.
The 2013/2014 development cycle saw New York (with 24 drama projects retained)
dethrone Los Angeles (with 19 drama projects retained) to become North Americas
most attractive location for one-hour TV pilot production.
Overall, Los Angeles retained only 90 projects (19 one-hour dramas and 71 half-hour
comedies) out of 203 tracked during the 13/14 development cycle, yielding a 44
percent pilot production share. Last year, L.A.s pilot production share was 52 percent,
and six years earlier, a commanding 82 percent.
Leading competitors including New York (35 total projects), Vancouver (17 total
projects), Atlanta (12 total projects) and Toronto (8 total projects) continue to gain
ground on Los Angeles by attracting pilot producers with class-leading film incentive
programs.
Most of the pilot projects shot outside California were lucrative one-hour drama series
produced for network, cable, or new media distribution. Including straight-to-series
orders favored by new media content producers like Netflix, these projects cost $6 to $8
million to produce and employ 150-230 people during production. In all, there were 91
drama pilots produced outside Los Angeles in the 13/14 development cycle, whittling
L.A.s share down to just 17 percent of drama projects, another record low.
Losing television pilots and then series to other North American competitors leads
to the destruction of steady, well-paying California jobs, said FilmL.A. President Paul
Audley.
-- MORE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Audley added, Californias current incentive program makes it hard to attract and retain
new pilots and TV series. The data makes plain why an expanded film incentive is
needed to bring this part of the industry back.
Having lost its leadership in drama pilot production, Los Angeles status as North
Americas premier pilot production location now hinges on its attractiveness to comedy
producers. Los Angeles share of overall comedy production in the 13/14 development
cycle was 76 percent, down slightly from the 83 percent share it enjoyed last year, but
off considerably from the 100 percent share the region captured seven years prior.
FilmL.A.s study devotes considerable page space to film incentives and their effect on
the pilot production market. The California Film & Television Tax Credit outmatched
as it is has over time helped reverse a tiny amount of runaway production. From
2009-2014, the program has helped relocate seven current series to California from
other destinations a benefit worth thousands of full and part-time jobs and more than
$170 million in qualified production spending. None of the series produced in California
with the aid of the states tax credit have ever left the state in search of a new
production location.
The study also examines the impact of new media companies efforts at original content
production and resulting changes to broadcast and cable business models. The 13/14
development cycle saw 38 network, cable and new media shows skip traditional pilot
testing and instead go straight-to-series. More shows went straight to series this
development cycle than in the three previous cycles combined. The list of straight-to-
series shows includes both one-hour dramas (10 broadcast, and 20 between cable and
new media) and half-hour comedies (3 broadcast, and 5 between cable and new
media).
About FilmL.A.
FilmL.A. is Los Angeles regional film office, serving the City and County of Los Angeles and an
ever-increasing roster of local municipalities. Providing streamlined permit processing,
comprehensive community relations, marketing services, film policy analysis and more to these
jurisdictions, FilmL.A. works to attract and retain film production in Greater Los Angeles. Learn
more about FilmL.A. at www.filmla.com.
# # #
201
TeIevIsIon PIIot Production Report
2014, FilmL.A. Research
6255 W. Sunset Blvd., 12th Floor Los Angeles, CA 90028 213.977.8600 www.filmla.com
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.Tothatend,thecompanymaintainsaninternalresearchdivisiondevotedtothe
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
1
EachyearbetweenJanuaryandApril,LosAngelesresidentsobserveamarkedincreaseinlocalon
locationfilming.Newtelevisionpilots,producedinanticipationofMayscreeningsfortelevisionadvertisers,join
continuingTVseries,featurefilmsandcommercialprojectsincompetitionfortalent,crews,stagespaceand
soughtafterlocations.
However,LosAngelesisn'ttheonlyplaceinNorthAmericahostingpilotproduction.Otherjurisdictions,
mostnotablytheCityofNewYork,theVancouverareaandtheCityofToronto,haveestablishedthemselvesas
strongcompetitorsforthislucrativepartofHollywoodsbusinesstradition.Morerecently,Atlanta,Georgiahas
emergedasastrongcontenderforpilotproductions,surpassingevenTorontointotalnumberofpilotsproduced
for2014.
FilmL.A.thenotforprofitorganizationthatcoordinatespermitsforfilmedentertainmentshoton
locationintheCityofLosAngeles,unincorporatedpartsofLosAngelesCountyandotherlocaljurisdictions
recentlyupdateditsongoingannualstudyoftelevisionpilotsinproduction.
FilmL.A.sofficialcountshowsthat203broadcast,cableandnewmediatelevisionpilotswereproduced
duringthe13/14developmentcycle,makingthepastyearthemostproductiveonrecordbyalargemargin.Out
ofthose203televisionpilots,atotalof90projectswerefilmedintheLosAngelesregion.
WhilethisisthefourthlargestannualpilottallyinLosAngeleshistory,itisstill11fewerthanL.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.
2
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.
3
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.In13/14,therewere52singlecamerapilotsproduced(33inL.A.).Bycomparison,in12/13,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
availabilityofgenerousfinancialincentivesandtheavailabilityofanestablishedand/orrapidlygrowingproduction
infrastructureproveddecisivefortwoofL.A.stopcompetitors:NewYork&Georgia.
NewYork
In2009,theStateofNewYorkincreasedtheamountofavailablefundsunderthestatesfilmtaxcredit
programtoover$400million.Theincreasedfundingbecamenecessaryduetothegreatlyincreaseddemandand
popularityoftheprogramaftertherateoftheincentiveinNewYorkwasincreasedfrom10percentto30percent
inlate2008.
4
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.Fortheeconomicallylucrative
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.
5
Moreimportantly,14ofthe17comedypilotsproducedinNewYorkoverthelasttwoyearshavebeenfor
covetedsinglecamerashows,whichcostmoretoproducethanmulticameracomedies.
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.
6
Georgiasgenerousincentiveandinvestmentininfrastructurearehavingaprofoundeffectonthe
popularityofthestateasafilmingdestination.Lastyear,GeorgiaovertookLouisianaasthethirdlargestUSstate
intotalproductionspending.
DigitalPlatformsReshapingTelevisionLandscape
Injustthelastseveralyears,nontraditionalprogrammingavailablefromonlineserviceslikeAmazonand
Netflixhasbegunalteringhowmoretraditionaltelevisionbroadcasteracquireanddelivercontent.
InAugust2013,actorKevinSpacey,thestarofNetflixshitseriesHouseofCards,gaveaspeechatthe
EdinburghTelevisionFestivalinwhichhepredicteddifferentiationbetweencontentdeliveryplatformswouldend
withinadecade:
Onewaythatourindustrymightfailtoadapttothecontinuallyshiftingsandsistokeepadogmatic
differentiationintheirmindsbetweenvariousmediaseparatingfilmandTVandminiseriesand
webisodesandhoweverelseyoumightwanttolabelnarrativeformats...Ipredictthatinthenextdecade
ortwo,anydifferentiationbetweentheseformatstheseplatformswillfallaway.
Is13hourswatchedasonecinematicwholereallyanydifferentthanafilm?Dowedefinefilmbybeing
somethingtwohoursorless?Surelyitgoesdeeperthanthat.Ifyouarewatchingafilmonyourtelevision,
isitnolongerafilmbecauseyou'renotwatchingitinthetheater?IfyouwatchaTVshowonyouriPadis
itnolongeraTVshow?Thedeviceandlengthareirrelevant.Thelabelsareuselessexceptperhapsto
agentsandmanagersandlawyerswhousetheselabelstoconductbusinessdeals.Forkidsgrowingup
nowtheresnodifferencewatchingAvataronaniPadorwatchingYouTubeonaTVandwatchingGame
ofThronesontheircomputer.It'sallcontent.It'sallstory.
Inthe2010/11season,justsixdigitalserieswerebeingproducedfornontraditionaldigitalplatforms.
Thegrowthinthenumberofdigitalseries
1
thatbeganairingsincethattimehasbeenremarkable:
1
Digital Platforms include: Amazon, AOL, Crackle, Hulu, MSN, Netflix, Playstation, XBOX, Yahoo, YouTube
(Source: Baseline Studio Systems)
7
Amazon
In13/14,AmazonStudiosproducedsevenliveactionpilots(plusanadditionalthreeanimated)forits
AmazonPrimesubscriptionstreamingservice,justonemorethanthesixliveactionpilotsthestudioproducedin
thepreviouscycle.However,Amazonpickedupfiveofthesevenliveactionpilotsproducedin13/14,compared
tojusttwo(ofsix)inthepreviouscycle.Amazonselectswhichpilotsreceivefullseriesordersbasedinlargepart
onthenumberoftimesashowisstreamedandthepercentageofviewerswhofinishthepilot.Unlikenetwork
television,onAmazontherearenocommercialinterruptionsandadvertiserinfluenceiseffectivelytakenoutof
theequation.
TheresponsefromviewersappearstobeverypromisingforAmazon.AccordingtoAmazon,thenumber
ofstreamsforeachpilotproducedinthe13/14cycleincreasedby100percentcomparedtolastyear.Some
industryobserverspointtoarumoreddoublingofAmazonPrimessubscriberbaseoverthepastyear,whichcould
helpexplainwhythenumberofviewsforpilotsthisyeardoubledaswell.Whilethatisavalidexplanation,its
worthnotingthatthefivepilotsproducedforchildrensawthenumberofstreamsincreaseby200percentover
lastyear.AmazonistightlyguardedaboutrevealingexactlyhowmanysubscribersAmazonPrimehas,but
unofficialestimatesplaceitaround20million.
ItspossibletheincreasedsubscriberbaseforAmazonPrimeincludedmorefamilieswithchildren.It
couldalsoreflectagenerationalrealitythatchildren,unliketheirparents,aremuchmorelikelytoconsume
contentvianontraditionalplatformsandviewingdevices.ItsalsopossiblethenumberofsubscriberstoAmazon
increasedbecauseofthegrowingamountoforiginalcontentbeingproducedoutsidetraditionaltelevision
broadcastingandthemannerinwhichcontentisdelivered.
Netflix
UnlikeAmazon,theoriginalprogrammingonNetflixhasallconsistedofstraighttoseriesorders.Rather
thanreleaseepisodesonaweeklybasisliketraditionalnetworks,Netflixmakesallepisodesavailableatonetime,
whichalsotakesadvertisersoutoftheequation.
Ratherthanmakeviewerstuneinweekly,Netflixallowsviewerstobingeonanentireseasonof
episodesasquicklyastheyplease.Moreover,becausetherearenocommercialinterruptionsorgapsbetween
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,includinghitserieslikeHouseof
CardsandOrangeistheNewBlack.Attheendof2014,Netflixwillhaveatotalof11originalseries(including
threeanimatedshows).In2015,Netflixplanstoaddsevenmoreseriestoitsoriginalcontentlineup,includingthe
firstof60episodesinaseriesproducedbyDisneyfeaturingMarvelsuperheroes.
Netflixdemandshighqualityforitsoriginalcontentandhasbeenwillingtopaytopdollartogetit.Total
spendinginMarylandforthefirstthreeseasonsofHouseofCardsisexpectedtoexceed$173million.Marvel
Studiosisexpectedtospend$200millioninNewYork,whereall60episodesofitsfoursuperheroserieswillbe
filmed.NewYorkalsobenefitsfromroughly$4millionspentmakingeachepisodeofOrangeistheNewBlack,for
atotalof$104millioninitsfirsttwoseasons.
8
Project Location Spending
HouseofCards(S1S3) Maryland $173million
MarvelSuperheroSeries NewYork $200million
OrangeistheNewBlack (S1S2) NewYork $104million
PresumeforamomentthatsuchseriescouldhavebeenmadeinCalifornia,wereincentivesinplaceto
bringthemhere.ThelostopportunitytotheCaliforniaeconomyfromjustthesethreeNetflixseriesapproaches
$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
thatageanymore.
Iftheindustryhasenteredadifferentera,whatdoesthatmeanfortelevisionshowrunners?As
screenwriterTravisBeahhamtoldtheLosAngelesTimesearlierthisyear,theresultingcreativefreedomcouldhelp
makeunusualshowconceptsmorecommerciallyviable:
AfewyearsagoFoxpassedonmakingapilotfortheproposedseriesbyscreenwriterTravisBeacham,
whichseemedlikethekissofdeath...Thisyear,however,Foxdecidedtotaketheseries.Butitdidn'tjust
orderapilotitordered13episodes.
Thebiggestadvantageofaseriesorderisthatitgivesusacrucialheadstartonthesortofpreparationit
takestorealizeaworldaslushandcomplexasthis,BeachamtoldTheTimesinanemail.It'shardto
investthatkindofeffortinapilotthatmayormaynotseethelightofday.Withoutaseriescommitment,
it'salmostimpossibleforsomethinglikeHieroglyphtohappen.
Ifadaptingtoaneweraoftelevisionbroadcastingmeansadoptingthepracticeoforderingmoreshows
straighttoseries,areviewofFilmL.A.shistoricaldatasuggeststhe13/14cyclemarksyearoneofthenewera.
Atotalof38network,cableandnewmediashowswereorderedstraighttoseriesinthe13/14cycle,whichis
morethandoublethecombinedtotalofthethreepreviousdevelopmentcycles.
9
Lookingatthetrendsforbothcategoriesindividuallyrevealsotherpatterns.Whenitcomestodrama,
cablenetworkshavebeenmoreaggressivethanbroadcastnetworksineachofthelastfourcycles.Inthethree
cyclespriorto13/14,thenumberofdramasorderedstraighttoseriesforcableoutpacednetworkordersbya71
margin.Whereasinthe13/14cycle,cableordersstilloutpacednetworkorders,butonlybya21margin.The20
cabledramaordersin13/14representa122percentincreaseoverthepriorcycle.Bycomparison,the10
networkdramaordersin13/14representa400percentincreaseoverthepriortwocyclescombined.
Whenitcomestocomedy,neithercablenorbroadcastnetworksplacedapriorityonorderingshows
straighttoseriespriorto13/14,whenalmostthreetimesasmanycomedieswereorderedthanthepriorthree
cyclescombined.Comedystraighttoseriesordersforcableoutpacednetworkordersbynearlya31margin.
10
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.
2
While there were six fewer pilots producing in L.A. during the 13/14 cycle, total spending increased due an
increase in the estimated cost to produce a one-hour drama. During the previous cycle, the average cost for a drama
pilot was $5.5 million.
11
RunawaySeriesProduction
Pilotproducersongoingwanderlustintroducesapairofrelatedconcernsforthosewhoworkintelevision
inL.A.Ononehand,lostproductionsharecarrieswithitthethreatofdiminishedpilotseasonspending.But
another,moreserious,concernisthattheonetimelossofapilotcaneasilyleadtothelossofapromisingseries.
Historically,pilotsmadeinLosAngeleswerehighlylikelytostayintheregionifpickedupforseries
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,toVancouverafter
filmingthepilotinL.A.ThetwopartpilotepisodefortheNCISspinoff,NCIS:NewOrleans,reportedlyspentthe
bulkofits$10.7millionbudgetinL.A.,buttheseriesisrelocatingtoNewOrleans.Whileforthelatterthereare
obviouscreativeconsiderationsinplay,allpriorseriesintheNCISfranchisehavebeenL.A.based,andproducers
pointtoLouisianasgeneroustaxcreditprogramasanimportantfactorindeterminingtheirchoiceoflocation.
This comes on the heels of losingAmerican HorrorStory, anothercoveted onehour drama, to Louisiana
aftertheshowfilmeditsfirsttwoseasonsinLosAngeles.TheonlyreasonAmericanHorrorStorydidnotrelocate
afterseasononeisthatproducerswerehopingseasontwowouldmakeitoffthewaitinglistfortheCaliforniaFilm
&TelevisionTaxCredit.Unfortunately,thegambledidnotpayoffandtheshow,whichspendsroughly$60million
makingeachseason,movedtoNewOrleans.
FromPilottoSeriesProduction
Today,theavailabilityofproductionincentivesandestablishedproductioninfrastructureoutsideLos
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.sshareofnetworkscreentimedevotedtodramashasfallenbelow40percentforthesecondtimeinarow
headingintothisfall.
Atthebeginningofthe2013/2014fallviewingseason,L.A.sshareofnetworkscreentimedevotedto
primetimescripteddramasfellbelow40percent,arecordlow.Inall,viewerslastfallwereexposedto38L.A.
basedshows(15dramas,23comedies).Viewerswerealsoexposedto27showsfilmedoutsidetheregion(26
dramas,1comedy).
12
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 PriorLocation
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)
Itsworthnotingthattwooftheseproductions,(TeenWolf&LetsStayTogether)relocatedafterfilming
priorseasonsinGeorgia,wheretheincentiveisalmostdoublewhatCaliforniaoffers.Moreover,LetsStay
TogetherfilmeditspilotepisodeinCaliforniabeforemovingtheshowtoGeorgiaandonlyrelocatedtobacktoLos
AngelesafteritwasoneoftheluckyfewproductionsabletosecureataxcreditunderCaliforniascurrent
program.Similarly,hadtherebeenenoughtaxcreditstopreventashowlikeAmericanHorrorStoryfromgetting
waitlisted,itmighthavepreventedtheshowfrommovingtoLouisiana(whichoffersthesameamountasGeorgia).
Alsoofnote,noneofthetelevisionseriesthathavereceivedtheCaliforniaFilm&TelevisionTaxCredit
sincetheprogramsinceptionin2009haveeverrelocatedtoanotherjurisdictionoutsideofthestate.Oncea
13
seriesgetstheCaliforniataxcredit,theshowstaysinthestate.Similarly,everyseriesthathasfilmedpriorseasons
orpilotepisodesoutsideofthestatehasrelocatedtoCaliforniauponreceivingthestatesfilmincentive.
Talk,Talent&VarietyinL.A.
Thoughnotafocusofthisreport,othersoundstagereliantfacetsofLosAngelestelevisionproduction
industryareworthyofmention.
TheL.A.regionhostsnumeroustelevisiontalkshows,includingConan,TheLateLateShowwithCraig
Ferguson,JimmyKimmelLive,TheTalk,EllenandDr.Phil.
Locallyproducedgameshowsinclude,butarenotlimitedto,Jeopardy,WheelofFortune,LetsMakea
Deal,SharkTank,Wipeout,TheBiggestLoserandThePriceisRight.
TalentshowsinL.A.includeAmericanIdol,AmericasBestDanceCrew,TheVoice,TheXFactor,Americas
GotTalent,SoYouThinkYouCanDance,DancingwiththeStars,DuetsandAmericasNextTopModel.
METHODOLOGY
SinceJanuary,2005,FilmL.A.hasconductedongoingprimaryandsecondaryresearchtokeeptrackof
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
startsatanytimein2014(orlater).
4. FilmL.A.accountsforthedifferencebetweenfullpilotandpresentationcostsinitsoverallpilotseasonspendingestimates.