Leadership notes: Support of film/TV production industry in OKC a great opportunity to further diversify economy

You may have heard several significant announcements surrounding Oklahoma City’s film and TV production industry recently. You may know about the conversion of the former convention center to Prairie Surf Studios, and Green Pastures Studio’s emergence from a former elementary school. Perhaps you’ve read a story about Oklahoma City Community College’s production courses, or those offered at Metro Technology Centers, Francis Tuttle Technology Center, Mid-Del Technology Center or Moore Norman Technology Center, for example. You may have even heard that Oklahoma recently increased its incentive pool for film and television production.

What you may not know is that these assets and others have contributed to a new industry segment with real momentum, generating economic activity and jobs on a level that can no longer be referred to as simply “fledgling.” And it’s just the kind of cutting-edge creative industry that both benefits our workforce as well as our perception, and attracts new investment and attention in a way that helps us in more ways than simply economically.

According to the Oklahoma Film & Music Office, in fiscal year 2020, filmmakers hired 3,751 people for projects in Oklahoma. In FY 2021, that number was 11,004. Production expenditures increased from $32.6 million to $170.4 million, and wages paid went from $17.89 million to $107.1 million. And that kind of growth is just the beginning. A recent study on the impact of film industry incentives pointed out not only the direct spending and associated benefits of production activity, but the indirect effects as well, money that is spent in other local sectors like at hotels, dry cleaning, restaurants/catering and more.

A single movie or TV series can create hundreds of jobs and bring millions into our economy. The brave entrepreneurs and creatives behind these successes deserve our support to keep the momentum moving and put OKC on the production map. As a business community, we need to do all we can to assist their efforts to make sure these businesses, their workforce, suppliers and others grow in both the short and the long term. It’s yet another example of the benefits and positive attention that purposeful industry diversification can bring.

This story originally appeared in the February 2022 edition of the VeloCity newsletter.