A recent report from Hollywood unions shows a significant decrease in U.S. film and TV production spending, dropping to 42% for films and 64% for television compared to around 74% and 94%, respectively, two decades ago. The study, conducted by EY, highlights the growing trend of major studios moving productions overseas due to competitive incentives offered in countries like Canada and the UK. With this backdrop, Congress is considering a 20-30% production incentive to counteract these trends and boost domestic film and TV industry jobs.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-06,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
A recent report from a coalition of Hollywood unions, including IATSE and the Directors Guild of America, reveals a significant decline in US film and TV production spending. Twenty-five years ago, studios spent 74% of their budgets on domestic productions, but that number has dropped to 42%, while TV production spending within the US has fallen from 94% to 64%. This trend is concerning as it coincides with Paramount Skydance's acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, set to finalize on Tuesday, when the company will officially become "Skydance Corporation." Meanwhile, Congress is debating a potential 20-30% production incentive to boost domestic productions, arguing that international incentives from countries like Canada and the UK are drawing US projects away.
Written for “Hollywood Production Decline” on 2026-10-06,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Studios used to spend 74% of their film production budgets in the US 25 years ago, and they now spend 42% of it, according to the report from a coalition of Hollywood unions, including IATSE, the Directors Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA.
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they → use → America
TV number have fallen by about a third, from 94% to 64%.
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number → fall → %
The report comes just as Paramount Skydance is expected to close its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery on Tuesday, officially dropping the Paramount Skydance corporate name to become “Skydance Corporation.”
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Skydance → come → name
The new data was also released as Congress considers whether a 20 to 30% production incentive would help activate the domestic film and TV industry.
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incentive → release → industry
Those who support the incentive say the US needs to counter incentives already provided by other countries such as Canada, the UK and others, arguing that state-based incentives aren’t enough.
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incentives → support → Canada
Congress members have looked into the issue of production jobs in the US going down since the end of Peak TV in 2022.
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jobs → look → 2022
However, the report, conducted by EY, indicates the longevity of the downturn, as the movie and TV business became global in the early 2000s.
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business → conduct → 2000s
The report says that while productions have grown substantially, the US shares a smaller stake of it.
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US → say → it
The study looked into movies and TV episodes that take a significant amount of funds to make, such as films with budgets of $5 million or more, in 2025 dollars, and TV episodes costing at least $1 million, for about 40 minutes or shorter, and at least $1.7 million for episodes longer than 40 minutes.
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that → look → minutes
In the past 25 years, the amount major studios spent on production rose from $3 billion to $7 billion.
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studios → spend → billion
TV spending increased even more during that time, from $933 million to $8.4 billion.
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spending → increase → billion
However, with all the differences that exist with the current TV landscape from that of the early 2000s, the report said that it was hard to draw out comparisons.
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it → exist → comparisons
“The rise of streaming fundamentally altered production scale, budgets, season lengths, and release models, creating discontinuities in what constitutes a comparable television series across periods,” the report said.
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report → alter → periods
The report also only quantifies the number of productions that have gone overseas, but it doesn’t explain the reason for it.
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it → quantify → it
Most of the films that have gone overseas are ones with big budgets.
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that → go → budgets
The US market’s share of the 25 most expensive films declined from 74% to 34% in the past 25 years.
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share → decline → years
Those films were a quarter of all the ones major studios made, but they represent half of the crew and two-thirds of the budgets.
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they → make → budgets
“This highlights that production budgets are heavily concentrated within a small subset of films,” the report said.
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report → highlight → films
“Patterns observed within this group generally reflect the broader analysis trends, albeit with a somewhat larger decline.”
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Patterns → observe → decline
The report says that if the movie business in the US had remained the same in the past 25 years, then an additional $4 billion would have been spent every year on TV and films in the country.
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billion → say → country
Last month, the Motion Picture Association released a study indicating that a federal incentive would generate about $22 billion in annual domestic production spending by 2035.
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incentive → release → 2035
The report warned that if Congress doesn’t act, then the US share of the market will continue to decline.
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share → warn → market
Unions will be coming together for a protest in Glendale, Calif. with Sen. Adam Schiff and other Democrats Tuesday.
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Unions → come → Schiff
Schiff, along with other legislators, introduced a federal credit proposal that would create a pretty generous incentive for studios.
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that → introduce → studios
With President Donald Trump’s support, the bill is expected to be signed into law by the end of 2026.
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bill → expect → 2026
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