L.A. TV Production Drops Sharply Amid Strike Fears
Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer TV production in Los Angeles dropped sharply in the first three months of 2023, amid industry retrenchment and general concern about a strike, according to a new report from FilmLA. Overall, on-location production days fell by 24%, compared to the first quarter of 2022. Most of the decline was in TV, which fell 35.8% over the same period. “The numbers are more dire than we thought they would be,” said Paul Audley, president of FilmLA. FilmLA has been reporting year-over-year declines for the last three quarters, as the post-COVID production surge has wound down. But Audley noted that studios are also reassessing their content strategy, and there is now the fear of a WGA strike, which has put some decisions about future production on pause.