L.A.’s Post-Strike Recovery Stalls, as Reality TV Production Plummets

As seen in Variety.

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.

Joe Chianese, who handles film incentives at Entertainment Partners, noted that reality TV is not eligible for the California film and TV production tax credit. He argued that production is starting to pick up in places like the United Kingdom and Australia, and that California’s tax incentive is not as competitive as other jurisdictions. “If you look at the world, it’s really the U.K, Canada and Georgia,” he said.

The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees reached a tentative agreement last month, which is scheduled for ratification this week. The Teamsters and other Basic Crafts unions are still in negotiations, and their contract is set to expire on July 31.

Sokoloski said that an increase in production next quarter is “possible, pending successful contract negotiations.”

“If we see new content investment, it will be cautious and measured, and the gains will be globally distributed,” he added.

The agency also released a report on soundstage occupancy, finding that it dropped to just 74% during the strike in the second quarter of 2023. Los Angeles leads the world in soundstage space, and occupancy has historically held above 90%.

When production declined due to the strike, soundstages turned to event producers and marketing agencies to fill some of the slack, the agency reported.