Introduction
The global coronavirus pandemic represents an unprecedented tragedy that has led to loss of lives as well as economic fallouts. Within this crisis, the entertainment sector has left many countless workers face individual catastrophes. Film production companies delayed productions due to the pandemic. Cinemas got closed that saw movies scheduled for big screen being moved to digital release. With travel restrictions there is no way to film and only essential employees are allowed to film production offices.
In this review how the COVID-19 pandemic have affected different sets of production.
Film production delayed and impacts
For big production companies such as Hollywood, it is hard to believe that anything could have halted their operations a year a go. Productions were forced to change release dates for widely anticipated movies which in some way delays their income. By mid March, China companies saw the cancellation or postponement of over 44 movies.
Television shows on limbo
When the pandemic hit, some television shows were suspended which left us frustrated. For example we all enjoyed the comeback of the 10th season of Walking dead but when the pandemic set in production had to be suspended. This left many in the most unexpected cliffhangers in TV history.
Corporate clashes and business model disruption
As early as mid April, economic analyst feared that some production companies would face bankruptcy. This is due to delayed revenues on heavily invested production films that had to be halted. Some of these companies are maintaining liquidity so that they can be able to resume operations once restrictions are raised.
Video streaming service providers
Video streaming service providers such as YouTube have gained millions of subscribers as many people are operating from home. This has a positive impact as more subscribers mean more income. However, this shouldn’t be misinterpreted as some video streaming service providers are liquidating due to the fierce competition. Failure to generate revenue within a targeted duration is the main reason for their liquidation.
Exhibitors
The stock of exhibitors, cinemas and theaters, and companies that own and finance showing films continued falling as the global stock market rebounded. This resulted to the company CEO’s stating that it is too expensive to continue running cinemas hence ordering their closure. This saw many people working in the cinemas being declared redundant.
Animation sector
This sector wasn’t adversely affected by the C0VID-19 pandemic. This is because animation creators were to adjust quickly and could easily work from home. The release dates were therefore not affected but for the few which were, they were only delayed for a short while. With physical distancing animation creators are able to go back to studios and create more films.
Conclusion
The production industry is vulnerable to production in both production and consumption. It has been one of the majorly hit sectors by the pandemic. While we await the production of a viable vaccine, production companies should adjust to other entertainment venues such as online video streaming, amusement parks, live events, trade shows and theatrical productions.
