By MILLIE TAKAKI
Overall location shoot days in Los Angeles for ’99 increased slightly from the previous year, due in part to commercial production activity. That was a bottom line finding culled from figures released by the Entertainment Industry Development Corp. (EIDC), the private/ public sector partnership that oversees the joint Los Angeles City/County Film Office.
Spot production days on location totaled 6,569 last year, as compared to 6,152 in ’98. The biggest gain was realized in March ’99, with 798 days, a hike of 319 days over March ’98.
While it’s too early to assess prospects for 2000, the EIDC has expressed concern that commercial production could be adversely affected if problems arise in negotiations between the Screen Actors Guild and the ad industry’s Joint Policy Committee (JPC) for a new spot actors’ contract. The JPC consists of representatives from the American Association of Advertising Agencies and the Association of National Advertisers.
Based on its ’99 performance, spots exceeded their TV program and feature film counterparts. While commercials shoot days increased by 6.7 percent, features declined 8.8 percent in ’99 (10,526 shoot days) as compared to ’98 (11,542), and TV programs dipped 8.1 percent (10,279 shoot days in ’99 vs. 11,185 in ’98).
But thanks to gains in spots, music videos, student projects and still photo shoots, total production days went up to 46,410 last year in Los Angeles, a modest 1.65 percent increase from ’98’s tally of 45,658.
Some view the runaway production battle as key if Los Angeles is to improve its performance across the board. Measures to make the U.S. more competitive with Canada and other foreign countries are under consideration. Proposals range from federal and state legislation to different segments of the filmmaking community doing their share to make production easier and more affordable in the U.S.
Endeavor Group Sells Professional Bull Riders, On Location and IMG To Parent of WWE and UFC
The parent company of WWE and UFC is buying Professional Bull Riders, On Location, and IMG from Endeavor Group in an all-stock deal valued at $3.25 billion.
The deal is part of Endeavor's efforts to shed some of its assets as it looks to be taken private in a proposed transaction with private equity firm Silver Lake, which was announced in April. Ariel Emanuel, who serves as CEO of Endeavor, is also executive chair and CEO of TKO.
Professional Bull Riders is a bull riding league that has more than 200 annual live events, approximately 1.25 million fans, and reaches more than 285 million households in more than 65 territories. On Location is live event company for more than 1,200 sporting events, such as the Super Bowl, Ryder Cup and NCAA Final Four. IMG is a distributor and producer of sports content, packages and sells media rights and brand partnerships, and provides consulting, digital services and event management to clients such as the National Football League and National Hockey League.
Parent company TKO Group said Thursday that the acquisition from Endeavor Group will complement its existing businesses as well as broaden its reach in the premium sports market.
"PBR, On Location, and IMG are industry-leading assets that meaningfully enhance TKO's portfolio and strengthen our position in premium sports globally," TKO Chief Operating Officer Mark Shapiro said in a statement. "Within TKO, they will help power the growth of our revenue streams and position us to capture even more upside from some of the most attractive parts of our sports ecosystem: media rights, live events, ticket sales, premium experiences, brand partnerships, and site fees."
As part of the deal, Endeavor will receive about 26.14 million common units of TKO... Read More