Paying TV productions to shoot in your state may be money poorly spent

Ever wonder why so many television series are filmed in New York or Vancouver, Canada? Well, you'd shoot there too, if they offered you the cornucopia of cash savings that these areas do. Why? Because most states and some countries embrace the common wisdom that television productions bring big bucks to the local economy. This is also why the host locations for two major television series (Law and Order in New York City, Lost in Hawaii) are singing the blues as these two series come to an end.

Hard numbers about the economic loss are difficult to come by (more about that later), but, according to Bizjournals, Hawaii estimates that Lost pumped $400 million into the state's coffers during its six-season run. It reportedly employed more than 2,000 people in the last shooting year, and bought airliners-full of food, paint, wood, and other set supplies as well as renting fleets of vehicles and paying for lodging.