Film, television, and media companies are on the rise

In 1987, a little-known actress with a big smile arrived in the quaint village of Mystic to make a movie about pizza; it went on to put them both on the map.

Since then, Julia Roberts has become one of the world’s biggest celebrities and the pizza joint featured in the film remains a star in its own right, attracting fans who still come to enjoy “a slice of heaven” more than 30 years later.

While “Mystic Pizza” is among the most recognizable films made in Connecticut, it’s far from the only one.

Since the 1940s, dozens of films have been shot in the state, including “War of the Worlds,” “Revolutionary Road,” and “Amistad,” as well as a bevy of digitally animated features produced by Greenwich-based Blue Sky Studios – including the popular “Ice Age” series.

Along with feature films, there’s also been an uptick in independent and made-for-television movies produced by local filmmakers, including Synthetic Cinema, Shadow | Vale Productions, and Goodnight Film.

And those numbers continue to grow as an increasing number of production and media companies establish roots in Connecticut, taking advantage of the state’s tax incentives, diverse locations, and expanding digital media scene.

Beyond film, television giants like ESPN, World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., and NBCUniversal also call Connecticut home, along with an impressive array of other media companies.

All good things, according to Connecticut Office of Film, TV & Digital Media Director George Norfleet.

“Over the past years, through leveraging our tax incentives, we’ve been able to really establish a nice critical mass of companies that all are employing lots of people due to their proximity to New York, and leveraging our tax incentives. We’ve got a nice industry that is emerging,” he said.

It’s an industry that generates a considerable amount of revenue.

According to a report released in March by the Motion Picture Association of America, the distribution and production of motion pictures and television programs nationally generated $177 billion in total wages, supported 2.6 million jobs, and contributed $229 billion in sales to the overall economy.

The industry includes more than 93,000 businesses in total, located in every state in the country. Most are small businesses, with 87% employing fewer than 10 people. The industry is also competitive on a global scale, producing $17.2 billion in exports and a positive trade balance in every major market in the world.

Here at home, film, television, and digital media companies spent nearly $400 million ($423,967,894) in Connecticut in 2018 and, cumulatively, more than $1.3 billion ($1,327,717,891) over the last five years, in addition to providing thousands of local jobs.

The Players

Employing well over 4,000 workers, Disney-owned ESPN is the largest industry employer in the state. Launched in 1979 by Bill Rasmussen, the 24-hour cable sports network was the first of its kind. Innovations like “Sports Center,” and “March Madness” basketball coverage, as well as scoring cable’s first million-dollar deal with Anheuser-Busch, helped EPSN evolve from a small startup on a one-acre parcel of land in Bristol to a multimedia sports empire.

Four decades later, the company is now home to 18 buildings spread across a 123-acre campus. Last year, the sports leader presented more than 64,000 hours of event and studio programming (TV and digital combined) and 23,542 live events, reaching nearly 100 million Americans per month. With new president James Pitaro taking over in March of 2018, the company plans to prioritize innovation, storytelling and programming, audience expansion, and direct-to-consumer streaming to address the evolving needs of its fans.

World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), established in 1983, is a long-time Stamford resident. Employing approximately 750 full-time workers in Connecticut, the wrestling giant broadcasts to 180 countries. Producing programs like “Monday Night Raw,” “SmackDown Live,” “Total Divas,” and “Total Bellas,” as well as having launched the first-ever 24/7 direct-to-consumer network in 2014, WWE reaches more than 800 million households, worldwide.

Blue Sky Studios is yet another luminary in the state. After relocating to Greenwich from New York in 2009, the digital animation studio has steadily grown in size and scope, employing more than 450 workers. Recently acquired by Disney, Blue Sky has produced both short and feature-length films, including the 2017 Oscar-nominated “Ferdinand.”

Headquartered in Stamford, the NBC Sports Group (part of NBCUniversal, and owned by Comcast) rounds out the top four industry leaders in the state. Employing nearly 800 workers, along with additional freelancers and vendors, NBC operates out of a state-of-the-art, 300,000-square-foot facility that houses NBC Sports, NBC Sports Network, NBC Olympics, NBC Sports Digital, and NBC Regional.

Producing high-profile sporting events like The Olympics, Super Bowl, “Sunday Night Football,” NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs, as well as vast sports programming across a wide range of properties, NBC Sports Group came to Connecticut, in part, to consolidate its sports divisions.

“Prior to making Stamford our official home in 2013, NBC Sports had employees working in five different offices across three different states, spread out between Philadelphia, Stamford and New York City,” said Pete Bevacqua, president of NBC Sports Group.

“The new headquarters in Connecticut allowed NBC Sports Group to consolidate all of our sports divisions under one roof, producing unprecedented collaboration and teamwork. Here, we can continue to cultivate an incredible culture within an exciting industry that people are passionate about. Stamford really is ‘The City That Works.’ ”

Another NBCUniversal division, also in Stamford, produces several daytime talk shows including “The Maury Show,” “The Steve Wilkos Show,” and “Judge Jerry,” a new syndicated court show premiering in the fall of 2019 and starring Jerry Springer.

The shows, according to NBCUniversal, were relocated to Connecticut as a direct result of the state’s film, television, and digital media tax credit program.

“We’re creating an industry where there wasn’t one before,” said Norfleet. “[Many of the companies] are new to the state in the last eight years or so, so we know that our incentives are working, and we see the results when we see folks locating here, and hiring hundreds of people and spending millions of dollars.”

Creating a novel industry

Implemented in July of 2006, the tax incentives have proven pivotal in the growth and expansion of the film, television, and digital media sector overall.

“We’ve had just about $2.4 billion in production spending, and we’ve issued about $807 million in tax credits over the last 12 years,” said Ed Ruggiero, tax credit administrator for the Connecticut Office of Film, TV, & Digital Media.

And that spending translates into economic gain.

“When you see the expenditures increasing, that generates tax revenue,” said Norfleet. “We’re creating jobs, which puts people to work, which is a second layer of tax revenue that’s generated. And at the end of the day, what we’re doing is creating and building a novel industry which diversifies the state’s economy overall,” he said.

As of 2018, the industry encompassed more than 1,200 media-related companies in Connecticut, employing approximately 16,000 people.

Adding to the robust outlook are two additional media companies coming soon to the state: ITV America and Wheelhouse Entertainment.

The largest producer of non-scripted content in the U.S., ITV America is the company behind popular shows like HGTV’s “Fixer Upper,” History Channel’s “Pawn Stars,” and “Queer Eye,” for Netflix.

In May of 2018, the media company announced plans to relocate a significant portion of its business operations to Stamford. With construction underway, the company anticipates occupying its new headquarters sometime mid-2020.

“ITV America is focused on finding innovative ways to keep our business thriving while securing career opportunities for both current and future employees,” said ITV America CEO David George.

“Our proposed partnership with the State of Connecticut delivers on both fronts – we’re delighted to have worked with the Governor’s office on this plan, which allows us to service many of our current projects while also promoting growth at ITV America. We look forward to putting down roots in Stamford and to being a dynamic part of the community.”

In addition to ITV America, Wheelhouse Entertainment, a newly-launched media and entertainment company founded by entrepreneur Brent Montgomery, is also coming to Stamford, and will share the space with ITV.

Between the two, it’s anticipated that more than 450 jobs will be created.

The project is supported, in part, by Connecticut’s Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD), which will provide loans to the companies with partial forgiveness based on that job creation.

And like many of the state’s other media companies, they’ll also be eligible for tax credits.

“We are talking about activities that are happening due to the fact that we have some really effective incentives on the books that folks are leveraging right now,” said Norfleet, who continued by saying that film, television, and digital media companies currently make up a vigorous industry in Connecticut.

“And we’re thankful to have them.”