85.7 F
San Fernando
Friday, Mar 29, 2024

Despite New Stages, Demand Stays Strong for Production Space in L.A.

Demand remains strong for sound stages throughout Los Angeles, even though nearly two dozen stages have opened in the past 18 months and some television movie production has fled to Canada. “Television has been a long-term trend up. That’s driving the utilization (of sound stages),” said Bennett McClellan, a director with the PriceWaterhouseCoopers media group. A survey of 289 sound stages by PriceWaterhouse last summer found occupancy running at 95 percent. McClellan doesn’t believe those percentages have changed significantly in recent months, especially with the TV season in full swing. Feature film production has also been fairly consistent, he said. The more far-flung facilities outside the entertainment hubs of Burbank, Hollywood and Culver City are good indicators. The new downtown L.A. Center Studios, along with Raleigh Studios Manhattan Beach and facilities in Valencia, are pretty much booked. Michael M. Moore, president of Raleigh Film and Television Studios Inc., said the company’s operations in Manhattan Beach and Hollywood have stayed busy despite competition from new stages coming online and more out-of-state production. “There’s been an increase in supply and a decrease in demand,” he said. “Fortunately, the TV segment has picked up this year It’s a cyclical business. It’s busier now than six months ago.” But the growing number of local stages is taking a toll. “People are giving better deals. Everyone’s been more aggressive (on rates),” Moore said. Even with higher demand, relatively few new stages are under construction or breaking ground soon. Several are on the drawing boards, including up to eight in Playa Vista and 10 in North Hollywood. But Playa Vista suffered a blow when DreamWorks SKG yanked its plan to build a studio campus there. And in North Hollywood, developer J. Allen Radford is rethinking his plan for sound stages because of problems negotiating a financial partnership and growing concerns about saturation of the market. Developers of L.A. Center Studios hope to start construction on six more downtown stages by mid-year after keeping their first six facilities booked since opening in early August. And the boutique Ray-Art Studios in Canoga Park is adding three more production facilities, bringing its total to eight. All but one are committed to tenants. (The Spelling Entertainment TV series “Charmed” is using the five existing stages.)

Previous article
Next article

Featured Articles

Related Articles