For decades, Los Angeles was the undisputed capital of global production. Films, television, and commercials were born here. Not just in our studios, but in our streets, neighborhoods, and communities. Then, almost overnight, the ground shifted.
As other states and countries rolled out aggressive tax incentives, production began to drift away. Georgia, New Mexico, Vancouver, Australia…the list is long and growing. And it wasn’t just big Hollywood blockbusters leaving. Commercials and branded content (once a steady heartbeat of L.A.’s production economy) were quietly relocating too.
Now, California is fighting back. The state’s new tax incentive program is a major win for film and television. Multimillion-dollar productions have a reason to stay here again. Crews get hired. Stages get booked. The ripple effect touches hotels, caterers, equipment rental houses, and countless other local businesses.
But there’s one glaring omission: Commercials and branded content still aren’t included.
The Unspoken Casualty of the Incentive Game
I’ve watched firsthand as commercial productions struggle to justify staying in Los Angeles. Costs here have skyrocketed. Crew rates, permits, parking, catering, you name it. A $1–2 million budget that might have worked locally a decade ago now forces tough decisions: Shoot in another state with incentives or cut corners until the work suffers.
The result? More brands and agencies are looking elsewhere (often out of state or offshore) to stretch dollars. That’s not just lost business for production companies; it’s lost jobs for California crew members, fewer bookings for our stages, and less money flowing into the neighborhoods that have supported our industry for generations.
Commercials Are an Economic Engine Too
When people think about production incentives, they picture a blockbuster film creating thousands of jobs. But commercials and branded content, while smaller in scale, are still a massive economic driver.
We hire local crew. We rent soundstages. We book hotels and feed dozens, sometimes hundreds, of people daily. We work fast and often. A single commercial shoot might only last a few days, but multiplied across hundreds of projects each year, the economic footprint is significant.
Commercial production also keeps talent pipelines alive. Many of the world’s top directors, editors, and cinematographers honed their skills in the ad world before moving into longer-form storytelling. When that work leaves the state, so does the training ground for tomorrow’s creative leaders.
Why Now Matters More Than Ever
This isn’t just about industry economics. It’s about community recovery. The fires that tore through California in early 2025 left deep scars. Entire neighborhoods are rebuilding. Businesses are trying to recover. We need industries that can create jobs and inject money into local economies quickly. Commercial production is perfectly positioned to do that. We can scale up in weeks, not years. We can bring dozens of shoots to LA almost overnight, if the playing field is level.
And the decline is already measurable. According to FilmLA’s Q2 2025 Report (published July 22, 2025):
“Commercial production, which receives no form of business incentive to create production jobs in California, declined -15.3 percent last quarter to 692 SD (shooting days). The Commercials category remains -38.3 percent below its five-year quarterly average, making it the weakest of the three major production categories tracked by FilmLA.”
A Call to Level the Playing Field
If California extended tax relief to include commercials and branded content, it would be a shot in the arm for the state’s creative economy. It would give brands and agencies a reason to bring work back home. And it would help ensure Los Angeles remains the beating heart of global production across film, television, and advertising.
This isn’t about subsidizing “ads.” It’s about recognizing that commercial production is a vital part of California’s creative identity. It’s about acknowledging that the crews who make your favorite Super Bowl spot are the same people who light your favorite Netflix series. It’s about keeping work, and the livelihoods it supports, where it belongs.
We Can’t Do This Alone
We need brands, agencies, and production companies to speak with one voice to policymakers. We need to share the data that proves our economic impact. And we need to promise that if the incentives come, we will use them. Bringing the work, the jobs, and the energy back to our stages, streets, and neighborhoods.
California is finally taking bold action to win back its film and TV business. Let’s make sure the commercials and branded content industry gets the same shot. Because a truly thriving creative economy doesn’t just make movies—it tells every story, in every format, from right here at home.
Diego de la Maza is the Los Angeles–based chief production officer at Deutsch, where he also leads Steelhead, the agency’s award-winning production company.
