AT&T Ready to Unveil WarnerMedia’s New Streamer HBO Max
Financial Times: HBO Max, WarnerMedia's answer to Netflix, launches in the US on May 27. It lands at a time when the coronavirus pandemic means that production has gone dark, talent is confined to their homes and 36 million Americans are...
Netflix Resumes Filming Overseas as Hollywood Plans Return
Reuters: California on Monday will roll out guidelines for the resumption of production of Hollywood movies and TV shows. Netflix is already resuming filming in South Korea, Iceland and Sweden, where strict testing and tracing is...
Report: Global Entertainment to Lose $160 Billion from Covid
World Screen: Over the next five years, the Covid-19 pandemic will cost the worldwide entertainment business $160 billion, according to Ampere Analysis. "Advertising is hit hardest, but drilling down shows that areas like theatrical are hit...
Comcast’s Universal Studios to Reopen Florida Park on June 5
Reuters: Universal Studios Orlando has announced plans to reopen its park to the public on June 5. The theme park will open at reduced capacity and will provide staggered parking, requiring temperature checks and masks both for employees and...
Facebook Begins Transition to Permanent Remote Workforce
NBC News: Mark Zuckerberg said that Facebook will start allowing many of its 50,000 employees and new recruits to work from home on a permanent basis. "We are going to be the most forward-leaning company on remote...
Spotify to Let Employees Work from Home Through Year-End
TechCrunch: Spotify has joined a growing number of tech giants expanding their work from home policies as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to drag on. The new policy allows staff to continue working from home through the end of the...
Fox Corp’s Home-Bound News Hosts Urge Viewers to Go Out
Mediaite: The denizens of "Fox & Friends" urged New York businesses to reopen en masse despite lockdown orders and a still-deadly coronavirus pandemic, but they did so from the safety of their own homes and secure...
ViacomCBS Strikes Deal with Krasinski for ‘Some Good News’
Entertainment Weekly: John Krasinski's wildly popular web series, "Some Good News," will be coming to ViacomCBS. The actor-director started the internet show in order to uplift and encourage fans amid the coronavirus...
Apple to Hire Boss for New Podcasting Effort with Ties to TV
Bloomberg: Apple is ramping up its push into original podcasts by seeking an executive to lead the initiative and buying shows that would be exclusive to its services. The technology giant has begun acquiring two types of original...
Disney-Bashing Heiress Unveils Podcast with Eye on Politics
Daily Beast: Disney heiress Abigail Disney has become increasingly outspoken on issues like income inequality and taxation, often with a progressive sensibility that’s earned her plaudits among Democrats. And now she's starting a...
Liberty Media Chief Bullish on Live Events Despite Pandemic
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Top executives with Liberty Media expressed confidence in the viability of the live-events business post-pandemic, but acknowledged that events may not be as large-scale or profitable as before. "There is demand for live...
Tribune Shareholders Approve Hedge Fund’s Seats on Board
Chicago Tribune: Shareholders of Tribune Publishing formally elected two representatives of hedge fund Alden Global Capital to the newspaper chain's board, as the man with the third-largest stake in the company seeks to break it up....
Gannett Longtime Cincinnati Newspaper Executive Dies at 93
Associated Press: Bill Keating is remembered widely as gentlemanly, considerate and modest. Underneath that genial exterior was a fiercely competitive and driven athlete, lawyer, politician and news...
Conde Nast Shutters Unpaid Wired Blog After Nearly 20 Years
Boing Boing: Bruce Sterling has been writing an unpaid blog called Beyond the Beyond for Wired for 18 years. However, Wired publisher Conde Nast "is in such deep financial trouble that they're realizing savings ... from shutting down an unpaid...
Bauer Media in Fracas with Fitness Guru Over Tracking Device
Hollywood Reporter: Richard Simmons has sued Bauer Media claiming a private detective hired by its magazine In Touch Weekly attached an electronic tracking device to his live-in caretaker's...
Atlantic Media to Lay Off Nearly 70 Staffers Amid Ad Collapse
New York Post: Atlantic Media, the publisher of The Atlantic magazine, said it will cut about 20 percent of its staff in response to the advertising collapse tied to the coronavirus crisis. "The contraction affects mainly our events, sales and editorial...
Gawker Media Veterans Prep TV Series Based on Snarky Site
Vanity Fair: Apple TV+ is in the early stages of developing a series about Gawker. The show was conceived and pitched by two former Gawker staffers, Max Read and Cord Jefferson, who have been working on scripts for the past couple of...
Big Media CEOs Under Fire for Lofty Pay in Coronavirus Era
Variety: Bob Iger's industry-leading pay package at Disney made him 911 times more valuable than a typical employee at the entertainment giant. That group averaged $52,184 in pay, bonus and company contribution to health...
Disney Grandson Bashes Execs for Protecting Big Bonuses
Daily Beast: In the latest twist in a bitter feud involving the heirs of Walt Disney, the legendary animator's grandson and heir is attacking executives at the media conglomerate for protecting their lucrative bonuses while furloughing...
Comcast’s Universal Preps Plan for Reopening Florida Park
Orlando Sentinel: Universal Orlando will be the first major theme park in Florida to present reopening plans Thursday to the Orange County mayor's economic recovery task force. The plan is expected to include a projected opening...
ViacomCBS Hopes for ‘Stability’ with Fall TV Lineup at CBS
World Screen: CBS has unveiled its 2020-2021 prime-time programming lineup, featuring one new comedy, two new dramas and 23 returning series, with show additions on Thursday and Sunday nights this fall. The schedule shows "incredible...
AT&T Calls the ‘Justice League’ to Attract Fans to HBO Max
Reuters: An unreleased version of the 2017 superhero movie "Justice League" by director Zack Snyder will debut on the HBO Max streaming service in 2021, in response to a years-long campaign by fans. The film's fans have speculated that they would prefer Snyder's...
Fox Corp Nabs ‘Duck Dynasty’ for News Channel’s Streamer
Mediaite: Fox Nation, the streaming service from Fox News, has acquired A&E's hit show "Duck Dynasty" for its platform. The series "showcases [a] family as they conquer new milestones and embrace life in the...
Google’s YouTube Learns Lessons from Covid-Themes Ads
CNBC: In the early days of the pandemic, a trend emerged of TV ads with inspirational music mentioning that brands are “here for you” and describing what they’re doing during “unprecedented times.” But YouTube advertisers mostly avoided the...
Apple Urged by Publishers to Halt ‘Screenshot’ News Piracy
Press Gazette: Apple, the maker of the iPhone, is coming under pressure to help news publishers combat "screenshot" piracy of paid-for content. The issue of readers flouting copyright to share paywalled journalism online was highlighted by the...
Amazon Releases Its First Big-Budget Game Called Crucible
CNBC: Amazon has ramped up its expansion into the games industry with Wednesday’s release of Crucible. The free-to-play shooter is Amazon’s first big-budget game since Amazon Game Studios, the company’s gaming branch, was created in...
Microsoft Founder Touts Disney Book for Summer Reading
Fox Business: Bill Gates has released his 2020 summer reading list. The Microsoft co-founder says that the Bob Iger memoir, "The Ride of a Lifetime," is "one of the best business books I've read in several years." Gates also recommends several TV...
Twitter CEO Faces Pressure from MSNBC Host to Ban Trump
The Hill: MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski says she will speak with Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey to discuss getting President Trump banned from Twitter. The "Morning Joe" co-host argued that the social media giant's platform policies are being...
Bloomberg Media Heads to Smart TV Service from Samsung
MediaPost: Bloomberg Media has teamed up with Samsung to deliver Bloomberg TV+ to viewers in full 4K ultra-high definition. The channel is available via Samsung TV Plus on smart TVs built between 2017-2000. "This is a milestone...
News Corp’s Exiting Dow Jones CEO Eyed in Phone Hacking
Guardian: Will Lewis, the former senior newspaper executive on the shortlist to be the next director general of the BBC, has been accused of playing a part in the concealment and destruction of vast amounts of emails relating to phone...