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State of the Screens

Discovery Reviews Production Costs After Saving on Low-Budget Quarantine Shows

By June 17, 2020No Comments

Wow: Discovery sent video kits out to cast members’ homes and saved $300K per hour in production costs!

The home video kit included:
1) Camera
2) iPhone
3) Tripods

FYI: Discovery spent $3.3B on content last year.

Quote from Gunnar Wiedenfels – CFO @ Discovery:
“We have been creating some very successful content with very scrappy equipment.  It felt the more real and authentic the content became during the crisis, the better it worked with our audience.”

Big question: When will non-remote film and television production be able to resume?

Quick answer: California is starting to open up, but most don’t expect much until late-July.

Scripted television projects by location according to FilmLA:
1) 
California – 72
2) 
New York – 29
3) 
British Columbia – 24
4) 
Georgia – 20
5) 
Other – 22

Domestic feature films by state according to Film LA:
1) California – 62
2) 
New York – 57
3) 
Georgia – 36
4) 
Massachusetts – 10
5) 
Illinois – 8
6) 
Louisiana – 8
7) 
Nevada – 7
8) 
New Mexico – 7
9) 
Other – 62

More #1: TV Execs, Writers Grapple With COVID-19 Era Scripts: “We’re Not Going to Be Able to Shoot It, So Don’t Write It”

More #2: Coronavirus Impact on Entertainment – Film and TV Production

Michael Beach

Michael Beach is the Chief Executive Officer of Cross Screen Media, a media analytics and software company that enables marketers to plan, activate, and measure CTV and linear TV at the local level. Michael is also the founder and editor of State of the Screens, a weekly newsletter focused on video advertising that is a must-read for thought leaders in the advertising industry. He has appeared in such publications as PBS Frontline, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Axios, CNBC and Bloomberg, and on NPR’s Planet Money podcast.