Study: Television Productions Continue to Flee Los Angeles

By City News Service

The number of television pilots filmed in Los Angeles rose to a near-record high in the 2012-13 season, but the city's share of overall pilot production shrank a near-record low, indicating a continued struggle to keep production companies in town, according to a report released today.

According to the report by FilmL.A., the nonprofit group that manages and tracks film permits in the area, 96 of the 186 television pilots in the 2012-13 season were filmed in the Los Angeles area. That was just shy of the record high of 102 pilots shot in Los Angeles in the 2004-05 season, according to FilmL.A.

But in terms of market share, Los Angeles was home to just 52 percent of television pilot production, the second-lowest figure on record, according to the report.

"Pilot producers' ongoing wanderlust introduces a pair of related concerns for those who work in television in L.A.," according to the report. "On the one hand, lost production share carries with it the threat of diminished pilot season spending. But another more serious concern is that the one-time loss of a pilot can easily lead to the loss of a promising series."

The report found that only 22 percent of television drama pilots were filmed in the Los Angeles area in 2012-13, down from 28 percent in the previous cycle and down from 63 percent in 2006-07. The area continued to be home to the majority of comedy pilots, with 83 percent, but that was down from 91 percent in the previous cycle.

"L.A.'s status as the premier pilot production center continues to hinge on industry willingness to produce comedy projects in Los Angeles," according to the report.