Not long ago, each February found the Los Angeles region abuzz with film production activity. New television pilots, produced in anticipation of May screenings for network television advertisers, joined continuing TV series, feature films and commercial projects in competition for talent, crews, stage space and sought-after locations.
But, pilot producers working in L.A. might find that they have their pick of local resources these days.
Earlier this month, FilmL.A. released a 2005-2009 Television Pilot Production Report, a five-year look back at network and cable television pilot production by location. Among the report’s other key findings, FilmL.A. observed that the overall number of primetime television pilots produced per season has declined by 17 percent since 2005. At the same time, the number of pilots produced in Los Angeles has fallen nearly 42 percent.
The accelerating loss of pilot production to incentive-granting U.S. and foreign jurisdictions is leading some to fear that L.A. has lost its grip on this once-captive facet of the industry.
“We’ve moved past the point where this industry is ours to lose,” said FilmL.A. President Paul Audley. “It’s now a question of what we’re going to do to get it back.”