L.A. TV Production Down 37% Last Week

from: Richard Verrier, LA Times –

Location filming on Los Angeles streets continued to slide last week due to a steady falloff in local TV shoots.

The decline was led by a 37% drop in production days for TV shoots compared with the same time a year ago, according to data from the film permitting group FilmL.A. Inc. Television production has been down 15% in the last six weeks over last year.

Blame New York and the lousy television advertising market.  Fewer dramas are filming in Los Angeles because of more competition from New York, which is having a record year for TV production.

L.A. is home to dozens of TV dramas like “Franklin & Bash,” “The Mentalist,” “CSI: New York” and “Parenthood.” But, in order to save money, such dramas are filming more days on studio lots rather than on location. Most of the major broadcast networks have been grappling with a slowdown in advertising revenue.

“We’re seeing fewer locations per TV permit and fewer days spent at each location,” said Todd Lindgren, spokesman for FilmL.A. Inc.

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