REPORT: COVID-19 Impact on TV Production
A new report by Ampere Analysis has revealed that there will be disruption to the supply and release of new film and TV content for over a year as a result of production delays caused by COVID-19.
Ampere’s analysis indicates that the unscripted market (i.e. Reality-TV) will more easily weather the current pandemic thanks to the production of non-location-based, and COVID-related, content.
But the scripted sector will take a far bigger hit: even if production is able to restart in June, underlying effects of the shutdown will be felt in the scripted TV market for the remainder of 2020, and well into 2021.
COVID-19: The future of TV production
According to the report, the future ahead of us is rather bleak:
- In the second half of 2020, the world’s top TV commissioners will release between 5%-10% fewer new scripted titles on a monthly basis than previously predicted. The effect will last into the first half of 2021, and potentially longer.
- Over half of scripted titles which would normally have released in the second half of 2020 are at risk of delays in release schedules due to the current production hiatus.
- Titles scheduled for release from June to August are likely to largely be in post-production, and delays will be more limited for this period.
- The number of scripted TV titles at risk of delay remains high for 12 months, with impact particularly intense at the traditional start of the broadcast season in the autumn. At this point, between 50%-60% of scripted titles that would normally have been released in the period are at risk of delay by Ampere’s estimates.
- A further 5%-10% of scripted titles that would have been released during the Autumn months are likely to be lost entirely due to the current production shutdown.
- The proportion of scripted releases unaffected by the shutdown only rises above 40% in March 2021.
- Comparing to 2019, only 51% of scripted projects ordered during March-May 2019 have been released to date. With the commissioning of scripted content down by 40% in the equivalent period of 2020, Ampere predicts the current lack of commissions will impact the supply of content well into 2021.
Fred Black, Senior Analyst, Ampere Analysis, says: “There is one certainty among the current uncertainty – that the COVID-19 pandemic will change the TV production industry far beyond the end of the lockdown. Initially, we expect delays to cause gaps in scripted TV release schedules, which broadcasters and streaming players will have to fill with other content. However, as delayed productions begin to fill out content gaps in later months, these gaps will begin to close. But this has further ramifications. The knock-on effect of delayed releases is a likely depression of the number of new commissions for some time after the shutdown ends, as commissioners look to fill schedules with delayed projects they have already invested in before signing off new ones.”
Eamonn Holmes, & Ruth Langsford © Joe Alvarez
Unscripted content is set to bounce back quicker.
- While a number of unscripted commissions expected over Q2 and Q3 2020 will be delayed, Ampere predicts release schedules will begin to return to normal by the Autumn, with the percentage of titles unaffected rising to 71% by October.
- The biggest misses in the unscripted space are likely to be returning summer series that cannot go into production, such as Reality stalwarts Love Island and The Bachelorette.
- Unscripted commissions have actually increased in comparison to the same period last year, partly to fill schedule gaps left by delayed or cancelled scripted series. However, a large proportion of these titles have been COVID-19-specific commissions. If this content is excluded, unscripted commissions have been down 27% since the beginning of March.
- Unlike scripted content, commissioners can typically order enough adapted unscripted content during lockdown to cover normal numbers of new unscripted releases, as well as help cover schedule gaps from delayed or cancelled scripted content.
Fred Black, a Senior Analyst, Ampere Analysis, concludes: “Commissioners are currently creating a large number of extra unscripted projects which can be used to cover gaps in the schedule left by delayed titles or the missed scripted commissions. This number of extra commissions will begin to wane as the shutdown ends, with audience appetite for COVID-19-specific content already showing signs of falling.”
Editor in Chief of Ikon London Magazine, journalist, film producer and founder of The DAFTA Film Awards (The DAFTAs).
