Battle of “number 6” US cities: Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Miami, Philadelphia, or Seattle? (living, state)

[Mutiny77]

Originally Posted by cpomp

I would like to hear your thoughts though.

Lets say Seattle and Miami are last in this poll. So between Boston, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Houston and Dallas, what exactly doesn't make Philadelphia belong according to you?

Just off the top of my head...
Philadelphia has a very large economy, higher GDP per capita than all those cities but Boston.
A massive amount of prestigious institutions, medical centers and a highly dominant player in the healthcare industry.
Several of the nations largest public and private corporations, finance firms, and law firms.
A very large albeit silent presence in the media market due to Comcast/NBC universal.
A very large amount of the nations most prestigious museums, trusts and philanthropic organizations, not to mention an irreplaceable status in American history, art, culture, etc.

None of these cities play a huge role politically, but Joe Biden (likely the next president) has his entire campaign and philanthropic efforts centered in Philadelphia.

I'm not saying these characteristics don't exist in the other cities, but I cannot find a reason for the life of me why Philadelphia would not at the very least be #8. Not everyone prefers or likes Philadelphia and some find it gritty, but lets not downplay its longstanding significance.

As I've said before (either earlier in this thread or elsewhere), I think Philly's collective strength and stature is a bit obscured by the fact that it isn't the dominant city of its region nor does it dominate any one particular sector, at least obviously/outrightly. Even its biggest claim to fame, its role in this nation's founding, is also somewhat shared by Boston. It's a city that has done several things quite well but hasn't been the undisputed best in any or most things. And although some may take it as such, this is hardly a jab. Although better decisions could've been made on the local and state levels historically that could have better positioned Philadelphia, the simple fact is that NYC had an enormous geographical/logistical advantage that ensured its premier position regionally and nationally (and eventually globally). The significantly rapid pace at which NYC grew and evolved into that status didn't even allow for any serious challengers really.

[CleverOne]

Originally Posted by atadytic19

When did Atlanta become the #1 City for film and TV? Do you mean in relation to the other cities you are talking about because I dunno if you have heard of a place called Los Angeles and another, I think it's called New York, those two produce a lot of film and TV too. SF and Miami are on the up and up along with New Orleans so Atl is going to have to share the love even in the South too.

Having the busiest airport is nice, but layovers don't add heft to a city, it just means the location is convenient for a stop. Kinda like a weigh station.

As for fortune 500 don't Houston and DFW have more (Not sure about Boston)

You have an argument in terms of culture. I would put it in the top 3-6 right now. After New York and LA and with Miami, SF, Chicago... And in terms of urban influence I can't think of any city higher. But urban influence didn't translate equally to overall influence.

Your views are outdated. Georgia(Atlanta) has become a mahor player.Its not just production but post production also.There are major studios that are actually headquartered in Atlanta.No other cities in the South can compete at this point.

https://www.mafilm.org/2018/01/18/th...18-big-cities/

Its Georgia but most of the filing is in Atlanta
https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/...roduction.html

[Mutiny77]

Originally Posted by CleverOne

Your views are outdated. Georgia(Atlanta) has become a mahor player.Its not just production but post production also.There are major studios that are actually headquartered in Atlanta.No other cities in the South can compete at this point.

https://www.mafilm.org/2018/01/18/th...18-big-cities/

Its Georgia but most of the filing is in Atlanta
https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/...roduction.html

Georgia had more movie filming occurring there than any other state for a couple of years, but also throwing in TV and saying Atlanta in particular has been number one for both for decades is quite inaccurate. That said, Atlanta has been a notable TV hub for quite a while with Turner Broadcasting Systems and CNN as legacy players and I'd disagree with atadytic19 somewhat concerning Atlanta's status in the South for TV/film. Atlanta actually surpassed the other Southern cities mentioned in that category several years ago due to Georgia's strong commitment to luring and establishing it there at the same time other Southern states, like NC and LA, were going in the opposite direction and this has resulted in Atlanta's solid regional dominance in the industry. I think Miami has more or less remained steady there and it will always have a natural appeal for TV and movies being filmed there, but what Atlanta/Georgia built in the absence of a unique natural appea--industry infrastructure--gave it an edge and the state's commitment to it hasn't gone anywhere.

[CleverOne]

Originally Posted by cdw1084

Yeah, and adding to Atlanta's case for 6 or definitely 7/8...Depending on your views about Boston and Houston:

I'dd like to add that Atlanta is also home to:
The CDC
Turner Broadcasting (TNT, TBS)
The Weather Channel
UPS
Porsche (North American HQ)
Mercedes-Benz USA
AT&T Mobility
One of the largest Federal Reserve Banks in the nation.

We can downplay the importance of Atlanta all we want on city-data, but to say that the city is below 8 on its worst day is just silly.

Again, I can honestly see arguments for Boston and Houston.

I would put Boston over all but Atlanta would be next.I agree arguments can be made for Houston ,Dallas and some degree Seattle but I dont see it YET but in the future maybe.

Atlanta is third in number of F500 companies (city proper)after Houston but ahead of Chicago,Dallas and San Francisco.Its fourth in F1000 companies

The Atlanta Fed is third in number of asset in the Fed system with assets of $309,722.After New York and California.
Philadelphia($84,407@8) is also a Fed city as well as Dallas.
Philly assets of $197,538@6)
The Federal Court system is also arranged this way. Atlanta Sixth District controls several states including Florida.

I think Georgia Tech should be up there with CDC as a mjor asset to the city.
Its not just a university but a major contributor to the tech industry as a whole and to Atlanta, Companies like GE and Anthem have there corporate IT division headquartered there.I think GaTech is one of the top most important assets Atlanta has.
People keep mentioning the CDC as if its not really a big deal but its the only federal agency headquartered outside of DC. The president was just in Atlanta to talk with CDC officials. Something he is in constant contact as is ever medical facility in the country now a days is.
The CDC is vital to American health,
Houston has energy but who says that industry couldnt move to New Orleans?Its a crazy notion that the US couldnt operate without Houston. Sure it would hurt the US drastically if something were to theat sector in Houston but the US has options.

From a culture level people know Coca Cola of course and it is an iconic American brand that has very few rivals but CNN is also I think equally important. It ushered in the world access to news at any time. It changed the industry by creating something new just as Coke did along with TBS which was one of the first superstation muti channels.

There are many American cities that have GDPs higher than more international well known cities and there importance isnt questioned.There influence maybe in things like culture,brands ,influence or leading industries make them stand out.
Cities like Geneva have less than 100b GDP.Berlin and Amsterdam less than 200b.Toronto less
These cities stand out because they have something other than GDP that makes them important.
Atlanta has probably more brands than cities maybe even bigger than it.
Off the top of my head besides Coke,CNN,:
Delta
Inspire Brands(Arby's,Sonic,Buffalo Wild Winds,Jimmy Johns)
Chic fil A
Focus Brands(Moe's Southwestern Grill,Cinnabon , Schlotzskys Deli)
Massage Envy
Waffle House

People may know TBS but it owns Cartoon Network,Tru TV that are headquartered with studios and local talent here
People can make fun all day of Tyler Perry but his studio is a game changer.There are so many chows being filmed there that are not owned by him but major studios. The Miss American pageant recently was just one of those shows
None of these cities including Boston has hosted more large scale events in the last 30 years as Atlanta. That says alot.
Atlanta is also home to the Fintech industry.At least 4 of the largest Fintech companies are headquartered there. NCR and Equifax are two of the industry leaders.Not to mention the investment firm Invesvo and its parent ICE who owns the NYSE
Last but not least the Entertainment Industry.
Atlanta is not just an also ran or another.Its actually a major player after LA and NYC in the TV and film industry.
The amount of major studios that actually have their main locations or headquarters that are permanent and there to stay.
Georgia ranks higher than the entire country Canada in film and Atlanta as Mutiny stated is in that higher league if cities.There are articles out of California about what California is doing mainly because of Georgia to keep its jobs.Atlanta is no LA but it is a serious rival.Not a week goes by Im in Atlanta do I see signs of a movie set.
Turn on the TV and I can promise you many of the shows are filmed in Atlanta and more and more actually set in Atlanta.
Now again Im not saying all this should invalidate the claims of other cities that have been mentioned but ruling out Atlanta in this discussion isnt giving it its due

[MarketStEl]

Originally Posted by CleverOne

Your views are outdated. Georgia(Atlanta) has become a mahor player.Its not just production but post production also.There are major studios that are actually headquartered in Atlanta.No other cities in the South can compete at this point.

https://www.mafilm.org/2018/01/18/th...18-big-cities/

Its Georgia but most of the filing is in Atlanta
https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/...roduction.html

I hope the studios leave more money in the state than Georgia sends to them. From the Atlanta Business Chronicle article linked above:

FilmL.A. in its report calls Georgia's incentive program the "most expensive" in North America, exceeding $800 million. That's up from $232 million five years ago.

A number of studies have found that these "smokestack-chasing" (and yes, this falls in that bucket) incentives and subsidies actually produce little to no net revenues for the states that issue them. I'm a native of a region that has demonstrated this in spades: Kansas City, where a particularly foolish "border war" did nothing to advance the metropolitan economy (the dueling incentive programs amounted to paying movers to continually rearrange the living-room furniture) while cratering Kansas' state and local budgets especially and leading Missouri to sue for peace, which didn't happen finally until the governor of Kansas' own party finally faced reality and hiked state taxes, followed soon by his replacement by the state's first Democratic governor in 12 years.

Hollywood, however, does seem to have developed a taste for these subsidies. For a while, Pennsylvania played this game too, offering pretty generous tax credits to film productions that shot in the state. And during that period, it was hard to walk around Philadelphia without running into some location shoot or other. The state scaled back those credits about three years ago, and while you'll still find some films and TV series shot here (one currently airing in AMC, "Dispatches from Elsewhere," includes scenes shot outside the building where I work in Episode 1; that series is set here), there are far fewer of them than there were before the credits were scaled back.

I will say, however, that the part of Georgia where the Netflix series "Ozark" is shot does a very good job of standing in for southwest Missouri.

[Mutiny77]

Originally Posted by MarketStEl

I hope the studios leave more money in the state than Georgia sends to them. From the Atlanta Business Chronicle article linked above:



A number of studies have found that these "smokestack-chasing" (and yes, this falls in that bucket) incentives and subsidies actually produce little to no net revenues for the states that issue them. I'm a native of a region that has demonstrated this in spades: Kansas City, where a particularly foolish "border war" did nothing to advance the metropolitan economy (the dueling incentive programs amounted to paying movers to continually rearrange the living-room furniture) while cratering Kansas' state and local budgets especially and leading Missouri to sue for peace, which didn't happen finally until the governor of Kansas' own party finally faced reality and hiked state taxes, followed soon by his replacement by the state's first Democratic governor in 12 years.

Hollywood, however, does seem to have developed a taste for these subsidies. For a while, Pennsylvania played this game too, offering pretty generous tax credits to film productions that shot in the state. And during that period, it was hard to walk around Philadelphia without running into some location shoot or other. The state scaled back those credits about three years ago, and while you'll still find some films and TV series shot here (one currently airing in AMC, "Dispatches from Elsewhere," includes scenes shot outside the building where I work in Episode 1; that series is set here), there are far fewer of them than there were before the credits were scaled back.

I will say, however, that the part of Georgia where the Netflix series "Ozark" is shot does a very good job of standing in for southwest Missouri.

I do agree that when it comes to incentives, the point of diminishing returns can be reached a lot sooner than government officials even realize. I will say that at least in Georgia's case, there was already some pre-existing infrastructure (Turner, CNN, Tyler Perry Studios) and a potential talent pool (all of the musical artists-turned-actors) for the TV/film industry to draw and build upon and lots of new studios have been built within the past couple of years. Atlanta certainly has an invested interest in seeing the industry remain and grow there and the state seems willing to continue to invest towards that end. Now I could possibly see incentives being cut in the near future in the wake of the economic devastation we're experiencing in order to quell this pandemic, but total elimination of the state incentives program for TV/film? Highly doubtful.

[omanchirda]

Boston
Dallas
Houston
Miami
Atlanta
Seattle

[cpomp]

Originally Posted by omanchirda

Boston
Dallas
Houston
Miami
Atlanta
Seattle

I give up with some of you.

[Ebck120]

Originally Posted by cpomp

I give up with some of you.

Unfortunately for Philly, it's just not on alot of folks radar's. Not downplaying it's importance and it's top 10 status... people tend to be like "oh yeah, theres Philadelphia".

[omanchirda]

Sorry I did forget about Philly. It's just too close to NYC.