Hollywood production stat that gets little attention

Web-based shooting is getting to be a big deal in L.A., at least a bigger deal than might be realized. Original programming for digital services such as Amazon, YouTube, and Yahoo were responsible for 1,633 production days in L.A. last year, up 46 percent from 2011, says Film L.A. While Web-based media accounts for only 10 percent of all TV production, the numbers have been steadily increasing as more series are announced. And it seems as if L.A. is a popular place to shoot - two shows being made for Amazon, "Browsers"" and Betas," are being produced here. It's an important counterpoint to the ceaseless chatter about the perils of runaway production. From the LAT:

[Amazon Studios Director Roy Price] said Amazon shot "Betas" and "Browsers" in Los Angeles, in part, to accommodate the Hollywood talent. "Most interior locations look the same no matter where you are," Price said. "There are certain advantages to shooting in L.A. because there are a lot of directors there, and actors. You don't have to fly everybody in, put everybody up."

The move towards Web-based productions is bound to put pressure on traditional cable and satellite services in justifying their steadily increasing rates - largely the result of higher programming costs. As I discuss on this week's Business Update on KPCC, the number of pay-TV customers grew only slightly last year (my apologies for the sound quality - we had some technical issues).

Shirley Jahad: Mark, what gives?

Mark Lacter: What gives, Shirley, is that many of us already have a cable and satellite hookup, so that business is maturing. And it has been for some time - the latest numbers show that the number of cable subscribers actually fell by a million or so in 2012 (cable pretty much peaked about 10 years ago). Meantime, the telecom services like Verizon and AT&T gained a little ground from a year earlier. All told, pay-TV operators added about 50,000 customers in 2012, which is basically flat growth in an industry that has 100 million households.

Jahad: How's network TV faring?

Lacter: It's also slowing down, especially among viewers from ages 18 to 49, which of course is the main demographic that advertisers care about. Through last week, Fox was down 23 percent this season, NBC down 7 percent, CBS 3 percent, and ABC 8 percent. Now, there are all sorts of explanations for the drop-off - they range from the increased use of DVRs (those don't get included in the main ratings numbers). Also, the huge growth of online streaming services like Netflix and Amazon allow viewers to circumvent pay-TV. You know there's a survey out that has 17 percent of TV watchers saying they would be willing to cut the pay-TV cord, though how many of them would actually do it is a debatable point (someone said that cord-cutting was a little like wanting to be a vegan - it sounds like a nice idea until you realize how impractical it is).

Jahad: I suppose sports programming is an area where pay-TV has a leg up.

Lacter: Yes, and that's especially true in L.A. because of the new Lakers channel from Time Warner Cable, as well as the Dodgers channel, which is being planned for the 2014 season. So, the question is not so much whether people will hold onto cable and satellite, but what will they be watching on cable and satellite. And that explains why we're seeing so many non-network channels offering original series. It's not just the obvious names like AMC and Bravo - it's FX and Oxygen and the Hallmark Channel and the History Channel. They all want to somehow stand out among viewers in order to ensure that the pay-TV companies keep them on the schedule.