Gaffer tape. We never think about the price of gaffer tape when we watch TV, unless we’re watching some home-improvement show and wondering if the equipment and tools needed could be bought entirely at Dollarama. Hey, we’ve all been there.
In a recent summary in The Hollywood Reporter, Herb Gains, an executive at Legendary Entertainment, is quoted as saying, “The accessibility of steel and lumber due to supply chain issues have driven up the cost of materials by at least 25 to 30 per cent.” He also says that the cost of building a set for a TV series has doubled in four years.
Another twist is the shifting status of live sports on TV in North America. For a decade, it has been taken as gospel that a major reason for consumers to stick with cable packages, even as streaming services abound, has been the allure of live sports events. Cable and network TV have relied on the revenue from ad-supported sports to fund comedy and drama, but that is changing too.
Amazon and Apple TV are expected to be highly interested, with live sports being the key to a complete menu of TV content. Amazon will become the exclusive carrier of NFL Thursday Night Football later this year, and Apple just signed a deal to have exclusive rights to all Major League Soccer games, starting next year. It’s a 10-year deal.
Film and tv have not relaxed Covid measures very much (lots of testing and on set masking!) and there are two takeaways from that: 1. It increases the cost of projects, and 2. It's being done because it needs to be done. pandemic