FilmL.A.–the nonprofit organization that coordinates permits for filmed entertainment shot on location in the City of Los Angeles, unincorporated parts of L.A. County and other local jurisdictions–reports that on-location lensing across short and long-form categories declined 24.5 percent in the first half of 2009 as compared to the same six-month period in ’08. Per film permit data, there were 19,015 permitted production days in January through June ’09 while the first half of ’08 had a tally of 25,196 permitted production days.
On-location feature film production posted the largest year-to-date decline of any category, down 52.5 percent compared to ’08 (2,314 vs. 4,868 production days). The category has posted four straight quarters of double-digit losses and has seen annual declines in ten of the last dozen years, as feature productions have left L.A. for other incentive-rich jurisdictions.
Permitted production days for commercials are down 31.1 percent (2,459 vs. 3,570 production days) year to date. The commercials category–which as experienced year-over-year annual losses in ’06, ’07 and ’08–has also posted four straight quarters of double-digit losses.
Television has performed better as a category, decreasing only 4.2 percent (8,277 vs. 8,636 production days) year to date compared to ’08. The WGA labor action introduced rollercoaster-like production swings in ’08 that led to illusory 49 percent year-over-year gains for TV in the first quarter of ’09 and 30.7 percent losses in the second.
Year-to-date figures for the major TV subcategories reveal a mixed picture. TV dramas are up 9.5 percent year to date (2,777 vs 2,537 production days). TV sitcoms are down 37.5 percent year to date (409 vs. 654 production days). TV reality dropped 12 percent year to date (2,863 vs. 3,255 production days), after a significant second quarter drop of 33.2 percent. TV pilots are up 10.8 percent year to date (563 to 508 production days) buoyed by first quarter gains.
“Our recent television production figures have been all over the map due to last year’s work stoppage,” said FilmL.A. president Paul Audley. “But, we are deeply concerned by our long-term loss of commercial and feature film production. The advertising sector has been hard hit by the economy, and feature films are consistently shot in incentive-generous locales outside California.”
Apple and Google Face UK Investigation Into Mobile Browser Dominance
Apple and Google aren't giving consumers a genuine choice of mobile web browsers, a British watchdog said Friday in a report that recommends they face an investigation under new U.K. digital rules taking effect next year.
The Competition and Markets Authority took aim at Apple, saying the iPhone maker's tactics hold back innovation by stopping rivals from giving users new features like faster webpage loading. Apple does this by restricting progressive web apps, which don't need to be downloaded from an app store and aren't subject to app store commissions, the report said.
"This technology is not able to fully take off on iOS devices," the watchdog said in a provisional report on its investigation into mobile browsers that it opened after an initial study concluded that Apple and Google effectively have a chokehold on "mobile ecosystems."
The CMA's report also found that Apple and Google manipulate the choices given to mobile phone users to make their own browsers "the clearest or easiest option."
And it said that the a revenue-sharing deal between the two U.S. Big Tech companies "significantly reduces their financial incentives" to compete in mobile browsers on Apple's iOS operating system for iPhones.
Both companies said they will "engage constructively" with the CMA.
Apple said it disagreed with the findings and said it was concerned that the recommendations would undermine user privacy and security.
Google said the openness of its Android mobile operating system "has helped to expand choice, reduce prices and democratize access to smartphones and apps" and that it's "committed to open platforms that empower consumers."
It's the latest move by regulators on both sides of the Atlantic to crack down on the... Read More