You might imagine that the world of TV and film production is a million miles away from international exchange rates. When you picture a TV production company, you immediately think of creativity, comedy, and pitch meetings around a large table with takeout food and long hours. It’s certainly a long way from the cliched suited and booted traders working the stock and currency markets.
What you may not realise though is that production companies care a lot more about exchange rates, particularly the strength of the dollar, than you might think.
Let’s think in the most candid terms. TV and film production comes down to money. As much as we like to think it’s about the creative idea, it’s ultimately about funding and production costs. If there isn’t the money or a project is too expensive it’s simply not going to get made.
It’s vital that production companies take into account all the economic factors that can impact their costs and profitability. TradingView’s DXY chart is a valuable tool for keeping an eye on the dollar rate compared with some of the most important currencies in the world.
How exactly does the strength of the dollar impact production companies and how they make their money? The first way that it can play a role is via investment, as this tends to fall when the economy is unstable. This is due to the increased levels of uncertainty around what the immediate future holds, causing more risk to investors.
You need to consider where the investment is coming from. If a foreign investor is looking to put money into a US-based production company for example, the strength of a dollar against the investor’s home currency is going to determine how much the investment is worth. The dollar has been performing well over the last 12 months as the Federal Reserve increases interest rates to tackle inflation, but as other countries catch up with rate rises, this could level the playing field.
If the production company makes money through subscriptions, the value of these vary too depending on the strength of the dollar. Take for example a US-based company using a subscription fee model, charging a monthly fee of €9.99 to Irish customers. If the value of the dollar increases by 10%, the value of those subscriptions falls too. Add in the fact that US cable subscriptions in the first quarter of 2023 fell to their lowest levels since 1992 and you can see why income might feel unpredictable.
The good news is that this works both ways – a stronger dollar means goods and services from abroad become cheaper, as you have more buying power for your money.
This could definitely be a good thing if you’re a production company based in Ireland and looking to sell TV programmes or films into the US, as it makes your prices more competitive compared to your American counterparts.
Wherever you’re based as a production company, you can see why it’s so vital to have an understanding of how the dollar is fluctuating both now and in the medium term.
Your business really does depend on it.