In news that will surprise few working locally in Vancouver, FilmL.A. is reporting that the West Coast city, along with Toronto and Atlanta, are continuing to wrest production dollars from California and other U.S. jurisdictions.

Non-profit FilmL.A. released its annual pilot report Wednesday, showing that 201 broadcast, cable and digital pilots were produced during the 2015-16 development cycle (123 dramas and 78 comedies), with Vancouver netting 25 of them, compared with 16 the previous year. Toronto also increased its haul of pilots from nine to 12 over the same period, while Atlanta, Georgia increased from 9 to 16. As a percentage increase from the previous year, Vancouver and Atlanta’s pilot numbers increased by 67%, with Toronto’s rising by 33%.

By contrast, the number of pilots shot in L.A. fell from 91 in the 2014-15 development cycle to 82 in 2015-16. After L.A., New York hosted the most pilot productions, 28, compared with 25 the previous year. Chicago was the only other jurisdiction to host more than five pilot productions.

Aside from incentives, the favourable exchange rate for U.S. productions in Canada was a primary factor in the migration of certain pilot projects north of the border. “In addition to the generous subsidies, growth in Canada was also driven by the exchange rate, which offers American producers an additional 20-25% savings based on the value of the Canadian dollar, which plummeted over the past year,” read the report.

Vancouver is currently experiencing a boom in crew numbers to accommodate the city’s production requirements, with IATSE Local 891 reporting that it is adding more than 150 members per month.

The study pegs the average production spend-per-pilot for a one-hour drama at between USD$6 and $9 million, while comedy pilots are averaging approximately USD$2 million. L.A. has lost ground in overall local spend as well, the report states. The USD$296 million in pilot production spent in L.A. in 2015-16 accounted for 29% of the total pilot spending in North America, marking the first time L.A.’s share of the pilot production spending has dipped below 30% since the report began in 2011-12. At that time, California overall accounted for 46% of the total pilot production spend in North America.

While the Canadian dollar has given Toronto and Vancouver an edge, the report noted that California’s revamped tax credit program appears to be doing its job, with more one-hour scripted dramas filming there (64) than at any point in the past 10 years. 

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