Coronavirus Shutdowns Will Delay Scripted TV Shows Up Through 2021
By Hoai-Tran Bui/May 19, 2020 12:30 pm EST
A new report from Ampere Analysis (via Deadline) predicts that it will take Hollywood and TV productions across the globe more than a year to bounce back from the effects of coronavirus delays. Up to 60% of scripted shows set to debut in 2020 will be delayed up to a year, while up to 10% of planned dramas and comedies likely to be scrapped entirely. However, there is a silver lining for reality show fans — unscripted programming is predicted to bounce back by the end of this year. So at least you have more trashy Netflix reality shows to look forward to.
Ampere Analysis senior analyst Fred Black said of the report:
Ampere expects that broadcasters will release between 5-10% fewer new scripted titles on a monthly basis in the second half of 2020. And 5-10% more scripted shows expected to debut in the fall will be canceled entirely.
There is one certainty among the current uncertainty – that the COVID-19 pandemic will change the TV production industry far beyond the end of the lockdown. Initially, we expect delays to cause gaps in scripted TV release schedules, which broadcasters and streaming players will have to fill with other content. However, as delayed productions begin to fill out content gaps in later months, these gaps will begin to close. But this has further ramifications. The knock-on effect of delayed releases is a likely depression of the number of new commissions for some time after the shutdown ends, as commissioners look to fill schedules with delayed projects they have already invested in before signing off new ones."
Delays were expected amid the coronavirus pandemic, even as overseas productions in New Zealand, the Czech Republic, and France start to slowly resume shooting. Health guidelines and restrictions will further impact future productions, and likely change the way the film and TV industry operates. But those industry-sweeping changes likely won’t be clear until next year, when the well of new content dries up, and beyond.
