Statistics Reveal 10% Drop in TV Roles
SAG Roles Slump As Reality Rises
A consistent increase in reality television programming in recent years has resulted in diminished employment for Screen Actors Guild members, according to statistics the guild released yesterday. Overall, episodic television roles dipped to 34,432 last year—a 10 percent reduction from 2003. During that period, primetime reality programming rose from 15 to 22 hours per week
Last year, ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, UPN and the WB broadcast an average of 5.1 additional hours per week of non-scripted programming, supplanting the equivalent of 10 sitcoms or five hour-long dramas. The increase in reality programming has been attributed in part to the lower production costs associated with reality television.
The 2004 figures, which were culled from guild-signatory producers, marked the most conspicuous erosion of episodic television roles in years. In 2001 there were 37,976 roles; in 2002 there were 28,689; and in 2003 there were 38,127. The study also pointed out that most of the drop occurred among supporting roles, but leading role held relatively steady from one year to the next.
Roles for Various Ethnic Groups Shift
The statistics also quantified shifts in the number of roles for various ethnic groups.
A 21% boost in episodic television roles contributed to an increase in overall employment from 2.5% to 2.9% for Asian/Pacific Island American actors.
Conversely, a drop in episodic TV to 13.8% from 15.3% resulted in 1,147 fewer roles for African-American actors. One positive was a small increase in the percentage of supporting roles for African-American women over the age of 40.
Although the number of television roles for Latino/Hispanic actors reduced by 246, losses by other groups resulted in a slight overall percentage increase to 5.5%.
Forty-eight fewer roles for Native American actors resulted in a 0.2% share, a dip of 0.1% from 2003.
Caucasians lost 2,127 roles, most of them in episodic television, but due to substantial decreases by other groups, the overall share rose by one percentage point to 74.5%. Leading roles for Caucasian men and women over age 40 also increased.
New SAG Leader Bemoans "Displacement of Scripted Series"
Not surprisingly, the distinct decline in episodic TV roles drew the concern of newly elected SAG president Alan Rosenberg, who said in a statement that the guild's number-one objective is to generate work opportunities for its 100,000 members.
“The statistics for this year are again disturbing, and the industry must begin to address this downward trend,” Rosenberg said. “The guild is more than doing its part, in particular by championing state tax incentive legislation that should lead producers to create more, not less, roles for performers. The displacement of scripted series by reality programming continues to be a severe obstacle to a working actor’s ability to earn a living.”