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Preliminary film production study finds $64.6 million gross economic impact, recommends incentive and staffing changes
Summary
A preliminary report from consultants on the Arkansas film production incentive estimates $64.6 million in gross value added between FY2014 and FY2025 and recommends reforming incentives, linking expansion to industry development, expanding the Arkansas Film Commission, and improving data collection.
Consultants presenting a preliminary film production study told the House Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee that incentivized production between fiscal 2014 and 2025 has produced an estimated $64.6 million in gross value added (GVA) for Arkansas and a gross return on investment of about $4.6, though consultants said they are still removing economic deadweight to report net figures.
Marty Garrity of the Bureau of Legislative Research introduced the initial report from Olsburg SPI. A consultant identified as Leon said the team interviewed more than 30 people in Arkansas, including producers, business owners, supply-chain firms, training providers, legislators and filmmakers, and conducted interviews with investors considering the state. Leon said the draft report includes gross economic numbers and that the project is undertaking an additionality survey to estimate net impact after removing economic deadweight.
Leon told the committee, “we found that incentivized production had delivered $64,600,000 in total GVA for Arkansas over that time taking into account direct indirect and induced effects and that equates to a return on investment of around $4.6.” He added the team identified an outlier production that spent far more than typical projects; the dataset did not include a verified production title.
The consultants offered four headline recommendations: reform the incentive; link any incentive expansion to an industry development strategy; expand the Arkansas Film Commission’s capacity and staffing; and improve data collection and publication for clarity. Senator Tucker and Regent Laderman asked about the economic breakdown and the role of Film Commission staffing; Leon said the commission is under-resourced relative to competitor states and that incentive size and staff capacity are linked.
The team said the second part of the study — including the additionality survey and net impact calculations — will take roughly two months.
