Two major catalysts for financial angst in the post industry-the actors’ strike and the transition to DTV-made their mark during the 2000 Association of Imaging Technology and Sound (ITS) Annual Forum held last week (7/12-15) at the Beverly Hilton.
Results of an ITS poll revealed that 33 percent of the association’s member companies derive a significant portion of their business from the advertising industry. Each post facility in that one-third slice of the ITS membership pie has lost an average of 19 percent of its gross revenue due to the strike.
Rather than take sides in the dispute between the actors’ unions and the Joint Policy Committee representing the Association of National Advertisers and the American Association of Advertising Agencies, ITS president Terry Rainey explained that his organization opted to make a statement by simply documenting the extent of the financial repercussions being felt by numerous facilities.
ITS chairman David Case, president of Production Masters Inc. (PMI), Pittsburgh, noted that facilities adversely affected by the strike have, according to ITS findings, instituted various cost-cutting measures, including staff layoffs, salary reductions, and opting to delay not only hiring people but also making equipment purchases. He added that the strike has taken its toll on facilities throughout much of the country, including markets where you wouldn’t necessarily think the impact would be that great. Case noted, for example, that PMI has definitely taken a significant hit in ad post revenue.
