It looks like there’s good news for screenwriters this year and looking forward on both the movie and TV front.
– There has been a 683% increase in production in the last 8 years.
– Last year alone saw 352 scripted first-run programs on air in the U.S. alone.
– The UK film market has grown 35% in the last year.
– There’s growing demand for Hollywood films from the China and overseas.
It used to be the case that it was possible to watch every single movie and TV show that was made. That’s definitely no longer the case. Demand for movies and TV shows just keep increasing and increasing.
And while it’s certainly harder to watch every single show and movie coming out these days, it’s a lot easier for writers to sell their screenplays now more than ever before—why? Because demand is just growing and growing.
There are more people (and the numbers are growing) both domestically and overseas who are demanding constant entertainment.
FX’s CEO, John Landgraf, recently mentioned that last year there were 352 scripted first-run prime-time and late-night programs aired on cable, streaming and broadcast networks in the U.S. alone (that doesn’t include PBS and overseas markets too). I was amazed to see that statistic. It really is quite incredible and it’s excellent news for screenwriters.
Joe Adalian at New York’s Vulture wrote that the number of new prime-time scripted shows had more than doubled in the past five years, and more than tripled since 2007. This growth rate is something quite extraordinary.
In the UK market alone, there’s been a 35% increase in production too compared to previous years.
So Why Is Hollywood Production Going Into Overdrive? There are a couple of reasons for this:
1) The demand for films and TV shows is growing as the younger population grows up (and the digital generation, who are huge movie/TV junkies, grows in size an audience).
2) Services like Netflix and Amazon and other streaming services are making movies more accessible for people all around the world.
3) The international market is growing, especially China and India, and there’s more people speaking English now across the world than ever before—and these people all want to watch Hollywood movies.
These are exciting times for screenwriters. And if you write a story of exceptional quality, you can bet that more people than ever are going to sit up and take notice. If you’re still debating about whether or not to start that screenwriting career, I’d say there’s never been a better time.
*Jennifer Sloane has worked as a screenplay agent in Los Angeles and Nashville for the last five years. Jennifer loves good movies, music and animals. A former television and movie executive, Jennifer currently heads business development at Script Mailer (a company that connects screenwriters with agents and producers in Hollywood).