TV Studios being asked to trim budgets on shows

ABC Studios recently asked its series producers to trim their budgets across the board by 2%. Ditto that at NBC/Universal (3% is coming soon).

“We report every day on the economic climate and the effects being felt throughout the country,” wrote a honcho at ABC. “We are not immune from the downturn.”

ABC Studios is leaving to each showrunner’s discretion how the 2% cuts will be made. Producers are being asked to identify what excesses they can cut immediately. Insiders noted that budgets are frequently padded for such a scenario and that in many cases the trims will be easy to identify.