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5/13: More TV production coming to Atlanta, Cumulus Media deal falls apart
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Here’s a story I wrote for the print edition today about a new tax incentive package to encourage more TV, film and videogame production in the state of Georgia. This doesn’t directly impact the average TV viewer but Georgians might end up seeing more film crews floating around in the coming months:
By RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com
Lights, camera, tax breaks!
Gov. Sonny Perdue signed a tax incentive bill that will give Georgia’s film, TV and videogame production companies as much as a 30 percent tax credit, matching or exceeding many other states trying to lure movies and TV shows.
To qualify, businesses need to spend at least $500,000 in Georgia. So a fictional company who expends $10 million in a given year and owes $3 million in taxes won’t pay a penny in Georgia taxes as long as they embed an animated, logo-bearing Georgia commercial within the project. If not, they would get a 20 percent break and owe $1 million. Here’s a copy of the bill if you want to read it in full.
The previous incentive plan, passed in 2005, provided a 9 percent break so this theoretical company will save $2.1 million under the new law. On the flip side, it means $2.1 million less in the tax coffers.
But Perdue said more production work equals more jobs and more potential tax money from other sources.
“It means hotel rooms are booked,” Perdue said at a press conference at Turner Studios Monday. “It means catering companies have work. It means money flowing to Georgia businesses big and small alike.”
Bill Thompson, deputy commissioner of Georgia’s Film, Music & Digital Entertainment office, said 30 to 40 projects were waiting in the wings for this bill to pass. Most of them, he said, would have gone elsewhere without the added incentives.
Anthony Morris and his partner John Gibson are working on a film version of their hugely successful local play “Peachtree Battle.” These incentives, Morris said, “will make the sale of Atlanta as a site for the film much easier.”
Dan Darling, Turner’s chief information officer, said Turner Studios has already doubled its studio space in Atlanta over five years, adding 40,000 to 50,000 square feet. “This will help continue our growth here in Georgia,” he said.
Georgia was a popular spot for films in the 1970s and 1980s, but projects began drying up in the 1990s when Canada and states such as Louisiana began offering financial incentives.
The 2005 tax incentive package helped revive some production in Georgia, including the Matthew McConaughey film “We Are Marshall” and the ABC TV drama “October Road.” But actor Ric Reitz, who helped design the latest bill, said states such as New Mexico, Louisiana and South Carolina upped the ante once again in 2006, causing business to slow again last year.
Reitz said if states continue to throw even more money to film and TV production companies, he doubts Georgia will go any further than this bill. “We do have to draw the line in the sand,” he said.
Some active production companies that already do plenty of business in Georgia, such as those run by Tyler Perry and Alton Brown, will benefit greatly from this bill.
-In another business-related move, efforts by Atlanta-based Cumulus Media, which owns Q100 and Rock 100.5, to go private fell through yesterday.
Its CEO Lew Dickey and Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity could not complete the $1.3 billion deal, which was first announced last July. More details here.
Blame the credit crunch, which has helped hurt several leveraged buyouts. Cumulus has the second most radio stations in the country with about 344 stations in 67 markets.
“Our business remains fundamentally sound and we intend to continue to operate it aggressively and explore opportunities to create and deliver value for our shareholders,” Dickey said in a statement on Monday, without providing details.
-The winner of the Q100 “Who Do You Know?” contest in which the person who got a big name to call in to the Bert Show won $10,000 and the celebrity got $5,000 for the charity. The winning celebrity, after an extensive debate, was Justin Timberlake. He beat out Muhammad Ali, who was favored by Bert and Jeff Dauler, while the women favored Timberlake. The argument was that Justin is more of a current pop culture icon while Ali is more a legend. Others seriously considered were Sean Connery, Morgan Freeman and Jimmy Carter.
Comments
By Carlos
May 13, 2008 10:28 AM | Link to this
…because current pop culture icons will always be around longer than a legend.
Doesn’t radio know we don’t fall for fake stunts like this any more?
By toopster
May 13, 2008 11:23 AM | Link to this
God, I thought I had found solice in the Bert show until this stupid crap started…oh, and then they have some 13 year old dishing out advice like she knows what the hell she is talking about…move the dial to 92.9 to find Zack Tyler who sounds like he’s always on remote, talking into a tin can…Cledus with his overdone fake accent, the Regular Guys doing bits from 1998, and I refuse to listen to any show that calls itself “the morning mess”. GOD SAVE ATLANTA MORNING RADIO
By brothermanonline
May 13, 2008 12:54 PM | Link to this
The staff of the Bert Show totally embarrassed themselves with this stunt/contest. This is further proof of their collective cultural ignorance. Very sad.
By brothermanonline
May 13, 2008 1:02 PM | Link to this
The staff of the Bert Show totally embarrassed themselves with this stunt/contest. This is further proof of their collective cultural ignorance. Very sad.
By brothermanonline
May 13, 2008 1:02 PM | Link to this
The staff of the Bert Show totally embarrassed themselves with this stunt/contest. This is further proof of their collective cultural ignorance. Very sad.
By brothermanonline
May 13, 2008 1:09 PM | Link to this
The staff of the Bert Show totally embarrassed themselves with this stunt/contest. This is further proof of their collective cultural ignorance. Very sad.
By Mark
May 13, 2008 1:46 PM | Link to this
Shame on you Giant from 96.1 for throwing cake in that girl’s face, then calling her a vulgar name at Eastside station last week. You are an arrogant fool. You ought to be fired!!