Hollywood losing TV pilots to other cities

CULVER CITY, Calif. (KABC) -- Hollywood continues to leave Hollywood, and now more bad news for the entertainment capital of the world.

New York is the city of choice for 24 drama pilots this season, beating out L.A. for the first time, which only has 19.

"The fact that New York has actually picked up even more pilots is that New York is serious about becoming thee TV capital again, and passing up L.A. in pretty much every way," Kevin Klowden said.

Klowden, who studies this issue for Milken Institute, says if those shows go to series that means Hollywood loses hundreds of jobs.

"Your skilled carpenters, your skilled electricians, your skilled lighting experts, your cameramen, and your assistant directors, your costumers, all of these people are the ones who wind up having to spend all this time on the road," Klowden said.

Why the movement? As Hollywood has taught us for years, it's all about the money. It's coming down to which state can give the best tax incentive.

"Breaking Bad" was originally going to shoot in the Inland Empire, but it was too expensive. Instead it shot in New Mexico, bringing millions to the region, including now in show-related tourism.

"House of Cards" lobbied Maryland's legislature to change its tax incentive policy, bringing hundreds of jobs to Maryland.

New York currently allocates $430 million a year to incentive programs, whereas California spends just $100 million on incentive programs.

Klowden says the entertainment industry is now lobbying Sacramento to dramatically increase that number or else.

"Right now, there is a $100 million per year, it gets subscribed almost immediately," Klowden said. "They have to have a lottery with hundreds of entries just because of the demand. By increasing the amount of money pool available, the goal is to significantly increase the impact."

Although dramas are more lucrative for the region, there is a bit of good news: California is still the leader in comedies.