The impact of the disaster in Japan following a 9.0 earthquake and tsunami is beginning to be felt by the domestic TV production business, B&C reports.

The availability of professional products such as tape and electronic components is expected to be affected, along with prices, the story says.

“One immediate issue was the damage to a Sony plant in the Sendai region in the earthquake zone that was a major producer of tapes and professional products and the shutdown of another Sony plant because of power outages,” the story reports. “As a result, at least two distributors–Comtel Pro Media in Burbank, Calif., and Tape Resources in Virginia Beach–were predicting shortages of Sony HDCam SR and other recording media widely used in TV production.”

High-quality HDCam SR tape has been widely used for prime-time television production, and already some outlets are limiting sales, the story notes.

Shortages and price increases may continue for months to come, the story says.

A post on the Comtel Pro Media website says: "Our industry has already been affected by a halt in media manufacturing operations–professional media supply shortages are evident, namely HDCam SR. Worldwide stock shortages present a realistic threat to our industry and the immediate needs of the television and motion picture production."