INDUSTRY REACTION : STOCK DROP EFFECT ON TV, FILMS MIXED

By DAVID CROOK

Oct. 20, 1987 12 AM PT

Times Staff Writer

A spot check through the entertainment industry Monday showed that Wall Street’s historic free fall is unlikely to have any short-term effect on motion picture and TV production plans.

The stock market’s unprecedented drop could have much the same long-term impact on TV networks and other show business firms that it could have on the rest of the economy, said some entertainment industry financial analysts, but, for now, it appears to be business as usual.

Said Mara Balsbaugh, leisure-time analyst for Smith, Barney: “Historically, the entertainment business has been somewhat more immune than other industries to economic depression, and, as we have seen, may even benefit from developments like that.”

“If this leads us into the situation of a very bad economy, it would have an impact because there would be less advertising, which would create cutbacks,” said Lee Isgur, first vice president of Paine Webber.

For now, however, Isgur sees no effect. “Common sense tells you that,” he said. “What does the price of General Motors have to do with the production of ‘Miami Vice?’ ”

A more bearish Harold Vogel, vice president of Merrill Lynch Capital Markets, said he anticipated no effect on productions that are already in the pipeline, but a significant impact on the industry nonetheless.

“There’s no question there’s an effect,” Vogel said. “You’re reducing the spendable income of a lot of people, reducing their perceived net worth. There is some kind of potential for a reassessment, people are going to be spending less money on home video, pay cable, etc.”

Vogel also anticipates that “there will be lower advertising spending because it is tied to corporate profits so the profits of broadcasters will be lower.”

NBC corporate spokesman Jay Rodriguez said, “I’m sure at this stage there is not going to be any effect. When we go into a season our business and programming people look at the stock market very carefully when we make that (initial financial commitment), but this has not affected us whatsoever.”

Corporate spokesmen for Columbia, 20th Century Fox and Walt Disney Productions said it was business as usual Monday and that it was too early to comment on the Wall Street plunge.

Michael Binkow, vice president of corporate communications for Fox, said he had several calls from the media on Monday but that the studio had no official statement to make.

Fox has a movie titled “Wall Street” scheduled for release this Christmas. The movie, a drama about illicit insider trading, was directed by Oliver Stone, an Oscar winner for last year’s “Platoon.”

“I’m going to have to sound a little innocuous,” began a Lorimar-Telepictures spokesman. “At this point we have no plans to alter any projects. Our plans are based on factors that are longer range and more stable than daily fluctuations of the stock market.”

Michael Keller, director of corporate communications and investor relations for Orion Pictures Corp., said the market still was too volatile to interpret. Still, at the risk of speaking prematurely, Keller said Monday’s stock market drop would not appear to have adverse effects on film projects currently in progress.

Also saying it is unlikely to feel an impact of the market drop was TV’s King World Syndication (“Jeopardy!” and “Wheel of Fortune”). President and chief executive Michael King said: “The current trauma on Wall Street does not affect our first-run syndication business in the least. We have strong and deep receivables commitments well into the ‘90s, and our ratings have never been better. We’re in a good position to ride this out.”

Diane Haithman, Jack Mathews, Victor Valle and John Voland contributed to this article.