Streaming's Rise and the Pandemic Are Changing Film Production in LA, Reports Find

Sam Blake

Sam primarily covers entertainment and media for dot.LA. Previously he was Marjorie Deane Fellow at The Economist, where he wrote for the business and finance sections of the print edition. He has also worked at the XPRIZE Foundation, U.S. Government Accountability Office, KCRW, and MLB Advanced Media (now Disney Streaming Services). He holds an MBA from UCLA Anderson, an MPP from UCLA Luskin and a BA in History from University of Michigan. Email him at samblake@dot.LA and find him on Twitter @hisamblake

Streaming's Rise and the Pandemic Are Changing Film Production in LA, Reports Find
Photo by Sam McGhee on Unsplash

Streaming is sidelining TV pilots. That's one of the findings in a pair of new reports released Wednesday by the nonprofit that manages most of L.A. County's film-permitting process.

The reports document the pandemic and how the rise in streaming services is changing the film-production world and challenging California's place in it.


The percentage of scripted TV projects that have foregone a traditional pilot episode and instead gone "straight-to-series" (STS) has skyrocketed, from 6% in 2012 to 66% in 2020. That's a trend largely driven by streamers, who distributed nearly 90% of their 2020 projects using that model, compared to 76.3% for cable and 15.3% for broadcast.

"We've been told (streamers' projects) get vetted a lot more heavily upfront," said the nonprofit FilmLA's president, Paul Audley. That, alongside streaming's rise, has ushered in the shift away from shooting a pilot and then shopping it to buyers.

Data and graphic from FilmLA

And for the second straight year, streaming made up the largest portion of scripted-TV projects. Of the 215 total such projects in FilmLA's 2020 cycle, streaming led the way with 97 projects, up 27.6% from 2019. Scripted cable projects rose 11.3% to 59, while broadcast fell 11.9% from 67 to 59. 2019 was the first year streaming projects eclipsed broadcast, and that margin has now widened.

California retains its spot as the top location for new scripted-TV projects. But there is increasing competition from other suitors trying to lure Hollywood productions. In 2018, the Golden State hosted 52.4% of scripted-TV projects. That fell to 43.1% in 2019 and further to 41.1% in 2020.

The state is still king when it comes to streaming, but its overall share is steadily falling. California hosted 29 new scripted projects last year, compared to Canada's 24 and New York's 17. Georgia, which has made a play for Hollywood's films, only hosted six scripted productions.

Last year was the bleakest year on record for production in the nonprofit FilmLA's 25-year history. After a nearly three-month pandemic-induced shutdown, film and TV production in L.A. returned slowly in 2020 under new restrictions. Those rules extended shooting timelines but limited what could be produced, cutting on-location shooting days in L.A. County 48% year-over-year, according to a new year-in-review report from the nonprofit.

Still, there were some bright spots, including the re-emergence of reality television. In the last quarter of 2020, overall television production days rose 6% year-over-year, with reality TV leading the way with a 93% increase from 2019. That's a reflection of reality's simpler production requirements compared to scripted shows, which make it easier to adhere to public health and industry guidelines.

Scripted television, on the other hand, plummeted. Drama shoot-days in 2020 fell 45.8% year-over-year, and comedy dropped 75.9%. Those figures likely underestimate the damage, because of FilmLA's methodology. The organization measures production volume by shoot-days; but due to the new health and safety protocols, Audley said productions are now requiring more time, meaning it takes more shoot-days to create the same amount of output.

"It's a double-edged sword," Audley said. "One edge is real gratitude that the industry and public health have found a way for the film industry to work at least at some level, because there are thousands of small businesses dependent on this industry and whatever work we can get out is really helpful. The other side is this pandemic has really decimated this industry that has a huge impact on Los Angeles."

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LA Tech Week 2025: Sunday’s Event Lineup

Here's the Sunday, October 19th lineup for LA Tech Week 2025, organized by location so you can easily explore events that fit your goals and schedule. Dive in and see what’s happening near you!

ARTS DISTRICT

3:00 PM

BEL AIR

3:00 PM – 7:00 PM

BURBANK

6:30 PM – 9:30 PM

CULVER CITY

9:00 AM – 5:00 PM

4:30 PM – 7:30 PM

INGLEWOOD

10:00 AM – 2:00 PM

  • Spinovation: The Future Is Femme, The Future is Frequency: See Details Here
    Sonder Impact, Black Women Spin, Sip & Sonder

KOREATOWN

12:00 PM – 3:00 PM

MARINA DEL REY

12:00 PM

  • Sunday Tech Brunch
    Sawubona

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9:00 AM – 11:00 AM

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9:00 AM

10:00 AM

3:45 PM

4:00 PM – 7:30 PM

  • OFF THE HOOK Santa Monica Seafood Festival: See Details Here
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6:00 PM

7:00 PM

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7:00 PM

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7:00 PM

8:00 PM

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10:00 AM – 12:00 PM

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10:00 AM

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10:00 AM

WEST ADAMS

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2:00 PM

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7:00 PM – 10:00 PM

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10:00 AM – 11:30 AM

1:00 PM

DTLA

7:00 PM

  • {MiniMax x Nakid x SkyPortalx}: TECH/MOTION/MUSIC/ART: See Details Here
    MiniMax (Hailuo AI)

10:00 PM – 2:00 AM

EL SEGUNDO

10:00 AM

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    BLCK VC

4:00 PM

INGLEWOOD

7:00 PM

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MARINA DEL REY

8:30 AM

12:00 PM – 3:00 PM

5:00 PM

  • LOST iN Sunset Sail: Navigating the Tides of the Creator Economy & Media: See Details Here
    LOST iN

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9:00 AM

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7:00 AM

9:00 AM

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9:30 AM

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10:30 AM – 11:30 AM

11:00 AM – 2:15 PM

12:00 PM – 5:00 PM

1:00 PM – 5:00 PM

1:30 PM

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    Santa Monica Striking, Luri Inc.

2:00 PM

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    Smart Times

2:00 PM

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    Startup Village, Sanctuary

3:00 PM – 4:00 PM

4:00 PM – 6:30 PM

  • Just Do It?: Helping Founders Perform Like Olympians: See Details Here
    Elite Psychology Group

5:00 PM

6:00 PM

6:00 PM – 9:00 PM

6:00 PM

6:00 PM – 9:00 PM

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    Villa Kitchen, Airble, We Speak Dance, Techstars San Francisco

7:00 PM

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    Feathr, Los Angeles Fun Events

7:00 PM

  • Life is a Pitch - LA Edition: *Invite Only*
    DeepMyst

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5:00 PM – 8:30 PM

  • Walk&Jam: Use AI to make art while hiking Topanga Canyon: See Details Here
    Formhaus llc, Wonderland Immersive Design

TORRANCE

1:00 PM – 4:00 PM

  • Crunches & Conversations Presented by The Differentials and KIS Training Studios: See Details Here
    The Differentials, KIS Training Studios

VENICE

1:00 PM – 4:30 PM

  • Beyond the Language Barrier: Exploring AI's Next Frontier: See Details Here
    Medusa AI

VENICE BEACH

8:00 AM – 12:00 PM

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WEST ADAMS

9:30 AM – 10:45 AM

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9:30 PM

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ARTS DISTRICT

8:30 AM – 12:00 PM

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6:00 PM

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BEVERLY HILLS

10:00 AM – 11:00 AM

1:00 PM – 2:00 PM

2:00 PM – 3:00 PM

3:00 PM – 4:00 PM

4:00 PM

6:00 PM – 9:00 PM

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8:00 PM

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BRENTWOOD

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CARSON

11:45 AM

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11:00 AM

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EL SEGUNDO

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5:00 PM – 8:00 PM

HOLLYWOOD

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7:00 AM

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MARINA DEL REY

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PLAYA VISTA

9:00 AM

12:00 PM – 2:00 PM

  • Vision to Venture - AI Media Showcase powered by Google AI: See Details Here
    Google

SANTA MONICA

7:00 AM – 8:30 AM

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    Run Tech Club, Wildwood Ventures

7:30 AM

8:45 AM – 10:45 AM

9:00 AM – 11:00 AM

  • Slash Burn Rates & Scale Your Startup: See Details Here
    Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA)

9:00 AM

  • Driving a Digital Ecology Relay: What is at Stake: See Details Here
    The PORT GLOBAL, GLOBAL PORTAL INSTITUTE

9:30 AM – 11:30 AM

10:00 AM – 1:00 PM

  • The Enduring Value of Inclusive Capital: See Details Here
    Founders Registry. Nervana

10:00 AM – 12:00 PM

10:30 AM

11:30 AM – 1:00 PM

  • Advisors to Investors Lunch: Venture Capital for enterprise leaders: See Details Here
    Collinear Capital, Worlds

12:00 PM

  • Powerhouse Capital & a16z speedrun Investor Lunch Mixer: See Details Here
    Powerhouse Capital, a16z, speedrun

2:00 PM

  • Where Robotics Meets Heart - Embedding Family Values in a Future with AI: See Details Here
    Trove, Puerto Rico Blockchain Association, MindfulBytes

2:00 PM

3:00 PM

3:00 PM

3:00 PM

  • Workshop: Create An Enterprise Chatbot and Unlock the 70% of Data Data You’re Not Using: See Details Here
    Aparavi

4:00 PM

5:00 PM – 10:00 PM

5:30 PM

5:30 PM – 9:30 PM

6:00 PM – 8:30 PM

  • USC Alumni Founders & Investors: See Details Here
    USC Alumni Entrepreneurship Network, Techstars

6:00 PM

  • Social Currency Series/Greenlit presents PitchPop: See Details Here
    Social Currency Series, Greenlit

6:00 PM – 9:00 PM

6:30 PM

6:30 PM – 10:00 PM

6:30 PM

  • Lets get the LA Bioeconomy brewing: See Details Here
    Founders, Friends & Fermentation, Saku Biosciences

7:00 PM – 11:30 PM

7:00 PM – 10:00 PM

7:00 PM – 10:00 PM

7:00 PM

7:00 PM

  • Liquid Equity 2: The Premiere Gathering for Founders, Creator
    Coeus Collective

7:00 PM

7:00 PM

  • For the Love of Tech | Speed Dating for Tech Professionals: See Details Here
    Feathr, Los Angeles Fun Events

7:00 PM

SOUTH LA

3:00 PM

TORRANCE

9:00 AM – 11:00 AM

  • The Future of Space & Security Panel: See Details Here
    Northwood Space, Anduril Industries, Impulse Space, Astranis

VENICE

9:00 AM – 10:45 AM

9:00 AM – 11:30 AM

11:00 AM

11:30 AM – 2:30 PM

12:30 PM

  • Creative Partners: Human + AI Storytelling: See Details Here
    Othelia, Primordial Soup

2:00 PM – 3:45 PM

5:00 PM

  • EarthHouse: Critical Minerals, Mobility & Modern Power: See Details Here
    The Strategye Group, Alpha Sierra One

6:00 PM – 9:00 PM

6:00 PM

  • Pizza+Soda: *Invite Only*
    Schmoozd , The KINN

7:00 PM

VENICE BEACH

2:00 PM – 6:30 PM

5:00 PM

8:30 PM – 2:00 AM

VIRTUAL (LA)

2:30 PM – 4:00 PM

3:00 PM

  • Government of Alberta: ProcurementAsCode // Done in 60 Seconds: See Details Here
    Government of Alberta

4:00 PM

  • Stop Hitting Yourself 🥊: See Details Here
    Stop Hitting Yourself, HOWDY, Company Policy, Snowbird Global

WEST HOLLYWOOD

3:00 PM – 6:00 PM

6:00 PM

WESTSIDE

5:00 PM

5:30 PM – 8:30 PM


For updates or more event information, visit the official Tech Week calendar.

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