The film and television industry has been a key factor in the Los Angeles economy, so it was good news today from Deadline, who announced that FilmLA, the nonprofit that facilitates permits for productions in Los Angeles, reports that productions filming in Los Angeles have increased 5.8% for the second quarter of 2016, when compared with Quarter 2 of 2015.
According to Variety, FilmLA attributes the increase in Los Angeles production can be credited in large part to California’s new $330 million film incentives program. The incentive was raised in 2014 from the $100 million incentive that it was before. The increase was aimed at preventing productions from moving out of California to states and countries with more favorable tax incentives.
Television pilots accounted for a huge percentage of the increase. In fact, according to Variety, television pilot production increased dramatically, jumping up 89.1% to 278 days of filming. Overall television production increased 1.4% to 4,091 shooting days. TV drama production is up 3.8% to 1,042 days and pilots soared 89.1% to 278 days. Web-based television also saw a significant increase in Los Angeles production, and it went up 20.6% to 527 days. However, much of this increase in web-based television could also be attributed to the increase in web-based content in general.
Not every area of television saw an increase, however. According to Deadline, reality TV suffered an 8.6% decline in Los Angeles production to 1,298 days. However, reality TV is not covered by the state incentive, so it would not have benefited from the funds. Television comedy, as well, saw a decline of 16.8% to 420 days.
Despite a few declines, however, the picture is quite positive. Variety quotes Los Angeles County supervisor Don Knabe saying, “There’s simply no place like Los Angeles County, where you can walk around the corner and find yourself in the middle of a film set that has turned the streets into New York City or Gotham City. Film production is booming and the large and small businesses that benefit from the industry are feeling the benefits, providing hundreds of thousands of jobs, directly and indirectly.”
Overall, it’s an excellent sign for the production market in Los Angeles. As Deadline reported back in June, 11 television shows were awarded the California tax credit: American Crime (Season 3), Citizen, Code Black (Season 2), Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (Season 2), Famous in Love, Pitch, Pure Genius, Rebel, Rosewood (Season 2), This is Us and Veep (Season 6). These 11 productions should generate $464 million in direct in-state spending, including $171 million in below-the-line crew spending.