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Major US studios
are taking a hard look at their television budgets as the economic
downturn that has shaken the broadcast networks since the September
11 attacks continues to take its toll. The television industry has
been deeply affected by the tremendous loss of advertising revenue
due to both the 24-hour news coverage and the postponement of the
fall premiere lineup. Sony, 20th Century Fox, AOL Time Warner and
the Walt Disney Co. are among the top studios who have been forced
to cut back on production budgets.
Fox, one of
the industry’s top suppliers of primetime fare, with at least
two dozen series set to air this season across six broadcast networks,
has asked producers to cut 2 percent of their production budgets,
as reported by The Hollywood reporter. Peter Chernin, News Corp.
president and chief operating officer, estimated Fox’s television
affiliates took a $100 million hit in the days after the September
11 attacks. “This is an extraordinary time, and like everyone
else in the industry, we need to take appropriate measures that
ensure our company’s long-term viability and protect our valuable
assets,” Dana Walden, president of 20th Century Fox Television
told the reporter. AOL Time Warner and Walt Disney Co., who had
already begun their cost-cutting process before the attacks, have
had to cut their bottom line even more. Sony Pictures Entertainment,
as well, is getting pressure from their top brass in Tokyo to evaluate
their budgetary priorities. The budget concerns come from the fact
that the major television networks are cutting spending on current
shows and projects in development for next year. Networks that once
chipped in for guest stars and location shoots for episodic series
are now leaving those costs entirely to the studios. The networks
are also making fewer big commitments to project in development.
The continuing threat of terrorist activities, including the current
anthrax scare at NBC and other media companies, isn’t helping
the situation. CBS president and CEO Leslie Moonves, whose network
has seriously been affected by the twice cancellation of the Primetime
Emmy Awards, told the reporter, “There’s a general malaise
out there...Right now people are having trouble planning marketing
campaigns, and that is what’s causing a slowdown in the [advertising]
marketplace and adding to the feeling of uncertainty across the
business.”
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