Weekly Digest from the West
Jean-Baptiste Piron
Cultural Attaché I Attaché culturel I Québec Office Los Angeles
-As a Virus Upends Hollywood, There May Never Be a Return to Normal: Amid an unprecedented shutdown of movie theaters and entertainment production, major players are experimenting with new business models as digital platforms ascend and artists take up a DIY ethos: ? You have to adapt." Desperation has driven studios to shrink the once sacrosanct 90-day theatrical window, a move some have been contemplating for more than a decade. At the same time, new streaming video services are drawing heavy investment, and though no company wants to be perceived as profiting from the disaster, streaming usage will be up 60 percent overall during the crisis, according to Nielsen. Gaming will spike 75 percent, according to Verizon. Internet demand is already so high in Europe that government officials there have asked Netflix, Amazon, Apple and Disney to reduce the video quality of their streams to lessen the burden on the continent’s networks. "COVID-19 will expand the gaps between those lagging and leading in the transition to digital distributions and business models," says venture capitalist Matthew Ball, former head of strategy at Amazon Studios. "OTT video services will surge, while pay TV loses its most valuable content — sports — and sees an accelerated decline in subscriptions and ad revenue. Parks and movie theaters are ground to a halt, while gaming companies hit new highs in usage. ? The virus disaster, which has shut down production at virtually every entertainment company, also has exposed weaknesses, especially in those that carry a heavy debt burden, like ViacomCBS, Endeavor and theater chain AMC Entertainment, or those that rely on travel to theme parks and cruise ships, like Disney. Cowen analyst Doug Creutz has cut his earnings estimates for all the entertainment companies he tracks through 2022, slashing his price target for Disney from $159 to $101 and for ViacomCBS from $25 to $17. Widespread layoffs are expected in an industry that had expanded to meet the demands of the streaming content bubble, with agencies including Endeavor and Paradigm already cutting staff and with UTA slashing employee salaries. The question for many in entertainment is how permanent these changes will be — will the industry rebound once the pandemic has passed and come to resemble its former self or will this crisis cement a new normal in Hollywood?
-Entertainment Analyst Cuts Earnings Estimates Through 2022 Amid Virus Crisis: Cowen analyst Doug Creutz on Monday cut his earnings estimates for the entertainment giants he covers, including the Walt Disney Co. and ViacomCBS, through 2022 due to the new coronavirus, an expected recession and their longer-term fallout and lowered his stock price targets. "We are lowering estimates and price targets across the board for our media companies today to reflect the impact of heavy social-distancing measures and the impact of the resulting recession that we expect," which could last "at least" until the fourth quarter, he wrote. "We expect TV advertising to suffer a significant and relatively permanent decline as we expect digital's share take to accelerate." He added that ? a key assumption we are making is that the recession drives a permanent step-down in TV advertising" that will affect financials into 2022 and possibly beyond. Creutz highlighted that theme parks were ? in for heavy damage" and would "likely take several years to recover," while "film results will see some impact from both the closure of cinemas and the shutdown of most film production, though we expect that pain to be spread out over several years due to the nature of film accounting." Meanwhile, with TV production also suffering disruption, "we expect a bit of revenue pressure there as well," the analyst noted. ? The one area we expect to remain relatively healthy is affiliate and subscription fees," although he added that "there is some risk of incremental cord-cutting...given pressure on household budgets." Creutz said he was sticking to his "outperform" ratings on shares of Disney and Lionsgate despite cutting his price targets from $159 to $101 and from $15 to $14, respectively. Disney will "suffer a fairly severe haircut to earnings as a result of its parks exposure," but "we still expect Disney shares to relatively benefit from its perception as a high-quality asset," he wrote. ? Lionsgate has by far the least exposure to COVID-19 related pressure of all our media names, so we actually like it relatively more here given that it has declined roughly as much as the rest of the space." Meanwhile, Creutz reduced his price targets for ViacomCBS from $25 to $17, for Fox Corp. from $33 to $21, for Discovery from $25 to $18 and for AMC Networks from $33 to $24. Creutz cut his Disney earnings per share estimate for the current fiscal year, ending in September, by 49 percent, his operating income forecast by 44 percent and his revenue projection by 14 percent. "In the near-term, Disney is taking by far the biggest earnings hit due to their park exposure," he explained, predicting that the impact would be "continuing to be meaningful out to fiscal year 2022."
-Amazon Prime Video is adding support for up to six profiles on the same account: Amazon is rolling out user profiles for Prime Video, allowing as many as six different people to track their viewing progress, manage watch lists, and get personalized recommendations. Kid profiles can also be added and limited to content that’s safe for children under 12 to watch. The feature, which was spotted by NDTV and XDA-Developers, is rolling out in phases and is currently available in “selected countries” in Asia and Africa, including India. Profiles are currently supported across a range of devices, including mobiles, tablets (including Fire devices), web browsers, and living room devices like the Apple TV, Chromecast, and the Fire TV in India. Adding profiles varies by device. For iOS and Android apps, you select the “My Stuff” tab at the bottom of the screen, and then hit the “+” icon to create a new profile.
-Hulu Adds ABC News’ Live-Streaming Channel for All Subscribers, Citing Coronavirus Crisis: Hulu is now giving on-demand subscribers access to the free 24-hour ABC News Live streaming channel, in a bit of corporate synergy under their common parent, Disney. Starting Friday, subscribers to Hulu’s $5.99 monthly ad-supported and $10.99 monthly no-ads plans can access the ABC News Live stream by visiting the “Hulu Picks” section. Hulu With Live TV added ABC News Live a year and half ago. According to Hulu, more than 45% of its viewers have either canceled pay-TV services or are cord-nevers who have not ever subscribed to cable or satellite TV. “Given the rapidly evolving situation around COVID-19, and to ensure that our viewers can stay informed during this time, we’re partnering with ABC News Live to bring the channel’s 24/7 live coverage to Hulu and Disney-billed on-demand subscribers as part of their subscription,” the streamer said in a statement. That said, the move seems mainly about providing easy access to ABC News Live for Hulu’s over 27 million VOD subs and to monetize their viewing — rather than being a kind of public service to Hulu customers. Cord-cutters are already able to watch ABC News Live — for free — via ABCNews.com, Roku, Hulu, Sling TV, Xumo and ABC News apps.
https://variety.com/2020/digital/news/hulu-abc-news-free-live-streaming-1203540995/
-Amazon Unlocks Batch of Kids’ Shows Free to Stream for All Customers: With millions of kids cooped up at home, Amazon is opening up free streaming access to more than 40 children’s shows — including its original series — to all customers worldwide. The content, previously available only to Prime Video customers, includes Amazon original series “Just Add Magic,” “Pete the Cat” and “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” and select seasons of PBS Kids shows including “Arthur,” “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood,” “Odd Squad” and “Wild Kratts.” In Europe, third-party content includes “Peppa Pig” and “Ben & Holly’s Little Kingdom.” To access the free kids’ titles, users must sign in with a valid Amazon account, which is free. The shows are available to the company’s customers worldwide, with availability of titles varying depending on location. Amazon set up a landing page for the free children’s programming at this link. By dropping the Prime Video paywall for the kids’ programming, Amazon is aiming to generate goodwill with parents looking for ways to keep their kids occupied during the Covid-19 emergency. The company also wants to encourage more people to sign up for the $119-per-year Prime program. Amazon is providing full access to original kids’ series and specials, including “The Dangerous Book for Boys,” “Lost in Oz,” “Just Add Magic,” “Pete the Cat,” “Costume Quest,” “Tumble Leaf,” “Bug Diaries,” “Creative Galaxy,” “Jessy & Nessy,” “Wishenpoof,” “Annedroids,” “Gortimer Gibbon’s Life on Normal Street,” “The Snowy Day” and “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.” In the U.S., PBS shows available for free right now on Amazon include “Arthur” season 10, starring the anthropomorphic aardvark, “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood” (seasons 1-2), “Odd Squad” (seasons 1-3), “Cailou” (season 1), “Cyberchase” (season 1) and “Dinosaur Train” (seasons 1-2). Note that Prime members can subscribe to PBS Kids via Amazon Channels for $4.99/month to get access to even more of the pubcaster’s kidvid catalog.
https://variety.com/2020/digital/news/amazon-free-streaming-kids-shows-movies-1203542074/
-Visual Effects Society urges Hollywood to let VFX artists work remotely during coronavirus crisis: The Visual Effects Society, a leading organization representing VFX artists, has called on studios and the film industry to support efforts to allow people to work from home due to the outbreak of the new coronavirus that causes COVID-19. In a statement Monday, the Visual Effects Society said it “wants to encourage all employers — large or small — to grant permission for their employees to work remotely during this unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic.” “We understand the concerns around security to protect proprietary work product, but right now is the time for the utmost flexibility towards VFX artists and all practitioners as we try to figure our way through this crisis. Many companies are trying to take action, and we are optimistic that studios and vendors can find and enact workable solutions.” To aid in that effort, the organization’s technology committee has offered guidance for working from home, in concert with studios, vendors and facilities. The organization’s statement comes during a time when many VFX artists have had to continue to work on-site even as film and TV production has shut down in compliance with government regulations to help slow the spread of the coronavirus. Last week, Mario Rokicki, a color supervisor at Double Negative in Vancouver, Canada, launched a petition on change.org in the form of an open letter to the Motion Picture Assn., imploring the industry to “allow VFX artists to work remotely. To date, the petition has received nearly 9,000 signatures. Many VFX artists are required to work on-site because of stringent nondisclosure agreements they must sign intended to protect intellectual property and prevent leaks and copyright theft. Such agreements have also made working remotely difficult, as workers generally aren’t allowed to take materials off-site because of security compliances.
-FuboTV to Merge With Facebank, Which Takes Out $100M Loan to Fund Fubo’s Operations: Over-the-top TV provider FuboTV is getting a lifeline in the form of a proposed merger with virtual entertainment company Facebank Group. Following the closing of the merger, expected by the end of March, FuboTV will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Facebank, and Facebank will be renamed FuboTV Inc. The combined company is expected to be based in New York and led by current FuboTV CEO David Gandler (pictured above) as chief executive. The companies said they will announce additional details of the combo’s management structure and board of directors. Facebank Group (facebankgroup.com), based in Jupiter, Fla., develops what it calls “hyper-realistic digital humans,” based on the likenesses of celebrities and sports stars, for use in applications including entertainment and artificial intelligence. Facebank was formerly Pulse Evolution, the company behind the computer-generated holographic images of Tupac Shakur at 2012 Coachella and Michael Jackson at the 2014 Billboard Music Awards. Pulse technology also was used for VFX in such movies as “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith,” “Rango” and “Transformers.”
https://variety.com/2020/digital/news/fubotv-facebank-merger-100-million-loan-1203542156/
-Esports Leagues Announce Schedules for Online-Only Formats: Much like traditional sports, many of the largest esports leagues can draw thousands of fans to events centers and arenas for in-person competitions. However, the coronavirus outbreak caused several leagues to change plans. And after quickly shifting to online-only formats, several esports leagues have emerged with updated schedules so fans can tune in and watch the reworked competitions. The Verge has a rundown of some upcoming matches from a variety of leagues. Highlights include the ESL Pro League, which focuses on Counter-Strike Global Offensive. The league has several matchups scheduled to broadcast on their Twitch channel on an almost daily basis from now until early April. You can view their full schedule here. The League of Legends Championship Series continues this weekend starting at 5 pm ET/2 pm PT on March 28th. The league is focusing on a weekend-only schedule, with five matches on Saturdays and Sundays. Spring finals are scheduled throughout April. You can tune in at their Twitch channel and view the entire schedule here. Meanwhile, the League of Legends European Championship is also focusing on a weekend-heavy schedule for the rest of its season. Fans can tune into the league’s Twitch channel and follow along with their full schedule.
https://www.cordcuttersnews.com/esports-leagues-announce-schedules-for-online-only-formats/
-MLB.TV Will Be Free for T-Mobile Customers As Soon As the Season Starts: Last month, T-Mobile announced that it would be bringing back a deal for its customers, a free regular full-season subscription to MLB.TV. The offer was set to begin today, March 24, as part of T-Mobile Tuesdays. Unfortunately, like most events, the MLB season will be delayed by at least two weeks, due to the coronavirus pandemic. MLB said the action “is being taken in the interests of the safety and well-being of our players, Clubs and our millions of loyal fans.” However, T-Mobile telling customers and baseball fans to hold tight. The offer will still be available when the season begins. The company sent out an email to customers yesterday, saying: At T-Mobile, we love baseball as much as you do. And the second it’s back, we’ll be on deck with free MLB.TV for T-Mobile customers starting Opening Day. We’ll be there to connect you to your team, from the first play to the last K, on America’s first and only nationwide 5G. See you on Opening Day. An MLB.TV subscription is normally $121.99.
-Netflix Streaming Traffic Hits All-Time Highs on AT&T Networks: Quarantine and chill: Netflix is seeing unprecedented levels of video streaming, as millions of people are homebound during the COVID-19 outbreak and looking for a diversion. And investors are gaining confidence that Netflix will be one of the few entertainment companies to see gains amid the pandemic. Netflix shares shot up 8.4% on Monday, bucking broader bear market trends as the Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped 3% for the day. The renewed bullishness came as AT&T said in a business update Monday regarding its COVID-19 response that Netflix data traffic across its U.S. networks reached record levels this past weekend. “We saw a dip in traffic [on March 23] from Netflix after all-time highs on Friday/Saturday,” the telco said. At this point, with Netflix “in a unique position to offer fresh content to a global audience that is hungry for in-home entertainment,” analysts at LightShed Partners raised estimates for the company’s first-quarter 2020 subscriber adds. The firm said Q1 global net adds could reach 10 million — over 40% higher than Netflix’s previous guidance of 7 million. LightShed also suggested Netflix is seeing a boost in upgrades from the standard two-stream $12.99 per-month-tier to the four-stream Family Plan ($15.99 monthly in the U.S.) as multiple members stuck at home . “With the inability to go out to the movies and linear TV reducing content output (no sports, late-night TV curtailed, reality TV shut down, etc), we believe Netflix usage is disproportionately benefiting among streaming video services as they have a steady flow of fresh original content,” the LightShed team led by Rich Greenfield wrote in a research note.
https://variety.com/2020/digital/news/netflix-streaming-hits-all-time-highs-coronavirus-1203543218/
-Have Your Viewing Habits Changed with Coronavirus? We Asked, You Answered: Last week, we asked the Cord Cutting Tech Support Facebook Group about what they’re watching and how their viewing habits have changed in light of current events. Here’s what the group had to say about what they’re watching and how much time they’re spending on streaming. We asked the group “Since coronavirus has taken over, are you spending more time streaming content than before?” 202 respondents said no, with 101 saying yes. We also asked “Now that we’re all going to be home for a while… What will you be binge watching?” Here’s the breakdown of top answers:
? Nothing. I have to go to work. (reader submitted response) – 151
? A streaming original (The Witcher on Netflix, Star Trek: Picard on CBS All Access, etc.) – 80
? A current series I haven’t gotten a chance to start yet (Schitt’s Creek, This is Us, etc.) – 49
? I have many weekly shows to watch and many series and movies to watch (reader submitted response) – 24
? An old favorite (The Office, Arrested Development, Game of Thrones, etc.) – 21
In the comments, several people commented that they’re sticking with feel good shows like Mary Tyler Moore, Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and Schitt’s Creek, as a break from all the news. Others said they’re diving into a series with multiple seasons, now that they have some free time on their hands. Some shows mentioned in the comments included Downton Abbey, Outlander, and Lost.
-HBO NOW Streaming Data In Wake of COVID-19: Over the past few weeks, we’ve received an influx of press inquiries about how social distancing in the wake of COVID-19 is affecting usage of HBO’s digital platforms. In response, the WarnerMedia Entertainment & Direct-to-Consumer Research Team has taken a look at HBO NOW usage, as well as linear viewing trends across TNT, TBS & TruTV. Overall U.S. TV viewing (traditional + connected devices + smart TV) grew by nearly 20% across the industry last week compared to the prior four weeks, with increases becoming more significant throughout the week. The largest increases are coming from connected devices, and non-traditional consumption has accelerated among younger demos as streaming behavior increases. And we’re seeing those trends play out across our own networks as well, with HBO experiencing gains across all of its platforms. In particular, usage levels for HBO NOW since Saturday, March 14, are the highest we’ve seen on the platform since summer. Time spent with the platform was up over 40% from its four-week average.
? While we’ve seen expected gains for WESTWORLD as it launched its new season (currently our #1 series on the platform) and other recent HBO Original Series, EUPHORIA’s audience has also doubled over its 4-week average,
? Among documentary titles, EBOLA: THE DOCTOR’S STORY ranked among our most watched titles this week, with viewing more than 7 times greater than recent weeks.
? Viewers are also enjoying HBO’s deep library of classic series, with THE WIRE nearly tripling its recent audience, and both SEX AND THE CITY and THE SOPRANOS nearly doubling their audiences.
? We’ve also seen tremendous growth in movie viewing, with engagement this past week growing 70% from the four-week average. Along with our slate of recent blockbusters,
? During the most recent week, daily binge viewing of 3+ episodes of HBO’s series content increased 65% from the prior four weeks.
https://medium.com/hbo-cinemax-pr/hbo-now-streaming-data-in-wake-of-covid-19-48afb260920
-Roku is Borrowing $69.6 Million From Morgan Stanley: Roku announced that it has taken revolving loans of $69.6 million. According to the filing, Morgan Stanley is the senior funding location for this $69.6 million in new funding. Now the question is exactly why is Roku borrowing the money. There are a few possibilities including the fact that Roku may want the money to help with a project it’s working on. It is not unusual for companies to borrow money just as they are trying to place a large order for new products they hope to soon release. It is also possible Roku is trying to get its hands on more players from its current lineup. With millions of Americans buying up streaming players as they prepare to be stuck at home, Roku and others have reportedly seen sales surge. Its possible Roku is hoping to bolster its supply lines as the market changes. Amazon has recently pushed the delivery of Roku players back a full month as part of its efforts to focus on essential products only. This could have put a strain on Roku’s other supply chains. Roku could also be having trouble with its ad business as a majority of its revenue now comes from things like ads and subscriptions. Facebook, who also relies on ads is, according to CNBC, facing a slowing ad market as some advertisers pull back on spending. This could also be impacting Roku as the overall ad market could be suffering similar to Facebook.
https://www.cordcuttersnews.com/roku-is-borrowing-69-6-million-from-morgan-stanley/
-Facebook, Google Could Lose Over $44 Billion in Ad Revenue in 2020 Because of Coronavirus: Ad spending is falling off a cliff amid the COVID-19 pandemic — and Facebook and Google, the two heavyweights in digital advertising, are expected to bear the brunt of the downturn in terms of sheer dollars lost. The two internet giants together could see more than $44 billion in worldwide ad revenue evaporate in 2020, Cowen & Co. analysts estimate. That said, both Google and Facebook will continue to be massively profitable even with double-digit revenue drops. For 2020, Google total net revenue is now projected to be about $127.5 billion, down $28.6 billion versus Cowen’s prior estimate (an 18% decline). Facebook ad revenue for the year is pegged at $67.8 billion for the year, a drop of $15.7 billion (-19%) vs. Cowen’s previous forecast. The revised estimates come after Facebook execs disclosed in a blog post Tuesday that the company has “seen a weakening in our ads business in countries taking aggressive actions to reduce the spread of COVID-19.” Facebook’s total usage has increased during the pandemic, with message volume up more than 50% over the last month in countries hit hardest by the virus, but “We don’t monetize many of the services where we’re seeing increased engagement,” Facebook’s Alex Schultz, VP of analytics, and Jay Parikh, VP of engineering wrote. In 2021, Facebook’s advertising business is projected to “bounce back,” growing 23% year-over-year to $83 billion, the Cowen analyst team led by John Blackledge wrote in a March 25 note. And while both Facebook and Google are expected to see double-digit declines in profitability, they’re projected to continue to raking in billions on the bottom line: For full-year 2020, Google will generate $54.3 billion in operating income (43% adjusted EBITDA margin) and Facebook will pull in $33.7 billion (49% margin), per Cowen’s forecast.
https://variety.com/2020/digital/news/facebook-google-ad-revenue-loss-coronavirus-1203544502/
-Steve Ballmer Pays $400M to Buy the Forum for Clippers: Los Angeles Clippers chairman Steve Ballmer is paying $400 million in cash to buy the Forum arena from the Madison Square Garden Company, the LA Times reported Tuesday. The deal allows Ballmer, the former Microsoft CEO who paid $2 billion to buy the Clippers in 2014, to move forward with plans to build a new arena for the NBA franchise. Ballmer formed a new company with Clippers vice chairman Dennis Wong called CAPSS LLC to make the purchase, which ends a long legal battle with MSG. It will allow the Clippers to play in their own building, rather than sharing with the Los Angeles Lakers at the Staples Center. There are no plans to tear down the Forum, the LA Times reported. "This is an unprecedented time, but we believe in our collective future," Ballmer said in a statement. ? We are committed to our investment in the City of Inglewood, which will be good for the community, the Clippers, and our fans."
https://dot.la/steve-ballmer-pays-400m-to-buy-the-forum-for-clippers-2645576539.html
-How COVID-19 is changing public perception of big tech companies: On March 5th, as COVID-19 began to reshape American life, I noted here that big tech companies had responded with unusual alacrity. Where they once had been loath to intervene in matters of fact, suddenly Facebook and Twitter were prominently featuring links to high-quality information from the Centers for Disease Control and World Health Organization in their respective feeds and search results. Google followed suit shortly thereafter. In the weeks since, Big Tech has only accelerated its efforts at doing good. They have donated tens of millions of dollars to relief efforts. They have contributed large stocks of precious N95 masks acquired during last year’s wildfires to medical organizations. They have added sections to their apps highlighting accurate news about COVID-19. And as unemployment surged, Facebook pledged $100 million in grants to small businesses, and Amazon said it would hire 100,000 people. In a dramatic change from only weeks before, news about Big Tech has been a bright spot at a time of great fear — and, increasingly, of grief. Increasingly, journalists are asking whether the backlash against technology companies that has defined coverage of them for the past three and a half years might have come to an end.
-Most US Cities Faring Well Under Increased Internet Strain, but Pandemic’s Effects are Showing: An analysis of internet activity in 200 US cities suggests internet service providers are so far coping well with the increased network demands brought on by the coronavirus outbreak and its effects. Still, BroadbandNow reports that some locations may be feeling the effects more than others. In all, the group took a look at 200 cities and found that 88 demonstrated some level of network degradation compared to 10 weeks earlier, with 24 (13 percent) experiencing drops in download speeds of 20 percent or more. “Though many cities … have experienced some degree of degradation in terms of median download speed, the vast majority of them are still well within speeds that can support crucial remote work and learning tasks,” the report stated. With more people working from home, often incorporating video conferencing into their routine, and many households streaming content at night, there’s increased attention being placed on internet stability. In response to the outbreak, many broadband providers and telcos have also started offering discounts and free trial periods for internet access, potentially adding more stress to the network. Still, the nationwide outlook seems promising so far, though BroadbandNow did point out several locations, including rural areas had poor download speeds even before the current outbreak. Of course, the coronavirus situation, and our actions in response to it, will continue to evolve over time. In Europe, for example, a number of video streaming providers, including Netflix, YouTube, Amazon, and Disney+, have already announced reductions in video quality to ease network congestion. In addition, YouTube announced its videos will default to standard definition (480p) worldwide. Meanwhile, Netflix said it’s also open to adjusting quality and video bitrate beyond Europe as the needs arise.
-Golden Globes Changes Film Eligibility Rules in Wake of Coronavirus Crisis: The Hollywood Foreign Press Association is implementing changes to its film eligibility rules for the 2021 Golden Globes because of the coronavirus pandemic. Since movie theaters and screening rooms are indefinitely closed due to the global health crisis, the organization temporarily suspended the rule that a film had to be screened for HFPA members at a third party facility in the greater Los Angeles area. The new guidelines state that distributors must contact the HFPA to arrange a screening date on the official HFPA calendar that meets the timing requirements of the Golden Globes eligibility rules. Distributors must provide all HFPA members with a screening link or a DVD copy of the film on the date the the screening is scheduled so that members may view it at home. It will be in effect from March 15 through April 30, 2020. Rules for a film’s release have also been altered. Instead of only considering a movie that was released in theaters or made available on pay-per-view cable or pay-per-view digital delivery (not subscription cable or digital delivery) in the greater Los Angeles area for a minimum seven days beginning before Dec. 31, the HFPA will now consider titles that had a theatrical release planned to begin in Los Angeles between March 15 and April 30. “The HFPA will continue to assess the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on motion picture and television distribution and exhibition and may extend these suspensions of the Golden Globe award rules and/or may make other temporary variations to those rules as it considers appropriate in the future,” the organization said in a statement. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler are set to return as hosts of the 2021 Globes. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has not announced any eligibility rule changes for the Oscars. The voting body behind the Academy Awards announced last week that it was “in the process of evaluating all aspects of this uncertain landscape and what changes may need to be made.”
https://variety.com/2020/film/news/golden-globes-film-eligibility-rules-coronavirus-1203545544/
-Sony Pictures Television Takes L.A. Screenings Online: Sony Pictures Television will replace their traditional L.A. Screenings with a virtual and on-demand experience in May, the company announced Friday. Los Angeles is currently under shelter-in-place orders and movement will be restricted until May, with the period being extended if necessary due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Titles featured at the screenings include comedy series “Woke” and adult animated comedy “Crossing Swords,” both of which will premiere on Hulu. In addition, the screenings will showcase action-drama “Coyote,” starring Michael Chiklis, and horror drama “Chapelwaite,” starring Oscar-winning actor Adrien Brody. Global series include comedy “Out of Her Mind,” starring Sara Pascoe; historical drama “The Angel of Hamburg”; and murder mystery drama “Leonardo,” starring Aiden Turner as the artist and genius Leonardo da Vinci and and Freddie Highmore as Stefano Giraldi, a fictional Milanese police officer investigating Leonardo as the suspect in a murder case. “This will be a novel way to showcase our upcoming television and movie slates,” said Keith Le Goy, president of distribution and networks for Sony Pictures Television. “As we go through these unprecedented times, the value of great content in providing joy, laughter and escape to people around the world has perhaps never been greater. We – and our creators and talent – are proud to present our amazing content to our global customers.” Content to be featured in the screenings include trailers and full-length episodes, as well as information about the series from executive producers. In addition to the virtual screenings, there will be localized activities in some markets, details of which will be revealed later.
https://variety.com/2020/tv/news/sony-pictures-television-la-screenings-1203546849/
-WarnerMedia Internal Memo Reveals $100 Million Relief Fund for Shutdown Production Staff: WarnerMedia will pledge $100 million in relief to workers affected by wide production shutdowns in film and television, CEO John Stankey said in a Friday staff memo obtained by Variety. “We have paused many productions for the health and safety of employees, cast, crew and community. We are stepping up with a commitment of more than $100 million to assist team members of those productions during this time,” Stankey wrote of the extraordinary impact of the coronavirus pandemic. IATSE, a union representing artisans and crew members on Hollywood productions, announced nearly two weeks ago that 120,000 workers had been displaced by shuttered sets — a number that has surely risen as planned shoots have been canceled while areas like New York and Los Angeles brace for the spread of Covid-19. The $100 million has been committed to those who were actively working on projects across WarnerMedia, one individual with knowledge of the company said, including Warner Bros. Pictures, Warner Bros. Television and HBO.
-Slack is working on Microsoft Teams integration for calls: Slack is working on integrating Microsoft Teams calling features into its chat app. The integration would allow users of both rival services to call each other, bridging an important gap between the communications apps. “We’re working on Teams integrations for calling feature,” said Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield on an analyst call, reports CNBC. Slack hasn’t revealed exactly how the calling integration will work, but the company previously made its apps easier to use with Microsoft’s Office 365 apps last year. This included Outlook calendar and mail integration into Slack along with access to OneDrive documents. Slack created these apps using Microsoft’s publicly available APIs and without any close collaboration between both companies. It’s not clear when this new Slack and Microsoft Teams integration will be available or whether the two companies are partnering to enable calling between the communications services. It would be surprising to see the two firms working together, given the intense competition. Microsoft has been racing to beat Slack to key business customers, and it passed Slack daily active users last year. Both services have seen big increases in demand following the novel coronavirus pandemic. Microsoft Teams usage soared to 44 million daily active users earlier this month, and Slack revealed this week that it hit a new record of 12.5 million concurrent users.
https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/27/21197091/slack-microsoft-teams-integration-calling-features