TV Commercial Makers Spend $3.5 Billion

Television commercial producers spent over $3.5 billion in a year, according to a new study conducted by Goodwin Simon Strategic research. The study is meant to quantify the economic impact of commercial production.

The New York-based Association of Independent Commercial Producers sponsored the research in order to assist commercial houses in gauging their size relative to the rest of the industry, as well as to assess the prevalence of runaway production in commercial shoots.

The $3.5 billion total was spent between July 1, 2002 and June 30, 2003. Of that amount, roughly $2.7 billion, or 77 percent, was spent in the United States; $768 million went abroad.

Roughly 78 percent of the commercial shooting days took place in the United States, with the remaining 22 percent in international markets. In 2003, 68 percent of responding companies made commercials in international territories, up from 65 percent in 2002.

Southern California was the most popular location for commercial production, with New York being the second most common. More than 80 percent of all commercial shooting took place in major production centers, such as Southern California, New York, Chicago and Florida.