Disney Chief Mulls Taking People’s Temperatures at Parks
Barron's: "Just as we now do bag checks for everybody that goes into our parks, it could be that at some point we ... take people's temperatures," says Disney chief Bob Iger. "In order to return to some semblance of normal, people will have to feel comfortable that...
ViacomCBS Plans CBS Sunday Movie Nights During Crisis
CBS New York: CBS announced plans to launch a Sunday movie night in May, featuring acclaimed feature films from the Paramount Pictures library. Each week, CBS will give viewers the opportunity to revisit films that remain a big part of the cultural...
AT&T Nabs Disney Freeform Head for Post at WarnerMedia
Deadline: Tom Ascheim is headed to WarnerMedia. The former Freeform president has been named President of Global Kids, Young Adults and Classics for Warner Bros. He will oversee Cartoon Network, Adult Swim and Boomerang, among other...
Fox Veteran Chernin Scores Deal to Make Movies for Netflix
Los Angeles Times: Netflix has scored a movie deal with “Ford v. Ferrari” producer Peter Chernin. Los Angeles-based Chernin Entertainment will make films for the streaming entertainment giant, after years of producing for 20th Century...
Netflix to Tighten Parental Controls for Cooped-Up Children
Bloomberg: Netflix is strengthening parental controls, offering more tools to limit what kids can watch on the world's most popular paid streaming service. Parents can now filter out titles they deem inappropriate and protect individual profiles with a...
Comcast’s CNBC Soars Online as Disney’s ESPN Plummets
New York Times: Americans have been seeking out more established media brands for information on the public health crisis and its economic consequences. CNBC, the business news site, has seen readership skyrocket. Use of ESPN's website has fallen...
Disney Launches ‘Magic’ Website for Families in Quarantine
ABC News: Disney has launched DisneyMagicMoments, a home for some of the best Disney content, stories and resources – for free – for kids, families and fans to fill their time.Expect offerings from Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars, as well as Walt Disney Animation Studios...
AT&T Buys Startup Canopy to Power New Service from CNN
CNET: Canopy, a privacy-focused recommendations startup, has been acquired by CNN. Built by Spotify, Instagram, Google and New York Times alumni, the startup is trying to figure out how algorithm-powered recommendations can be private by...
Tegna Furloughs Local TV Staffs as Managers Take Pay Cuts
Poynter: Tegna CEO Dave Lougee sent an email to employees announcing companywide weeklong furloughs to be taken in the second quarter of this year. "Many businesses have decreased or in some cases pulled their current advertising and marketing...
Belo Cuts Pay at Dallas Morning News to Blunt Virus Impact
Dallas Morning News: The parent company of the Dallas Morning News is responding to a significant loss of advertising during the coronavirus pandemic with cost cuts that include pay reductions of 3% to 17% and the halving of its quarterly...
Gannett Adopts Poison Pill in Move to Preserve Tax Benefits
USA Today: Gannett's board has implemented a plan to ensure that the company maintains access to about $435 million in tax benefits. The company adopted a "poison pill" to block investors from accumulating a large portion of the company without a board blessing....
Conde Nast’s Wintour Reveals Doctor Son Has Coronavirus
Daily Mail: Anna Wintour's doctor son Charlie has contracted coronavirus after working to fight the spread of the illness in a New York ICU. The Vogue editor in chief shared the news in a video posted on the Vogue Instagram account: "He is currently quite...
Hearst, Conde Nast Get a Boost from Covid-19 Panic Buying
New York Post: Magazine publishers got an unexpected boost in newsstand sales last month, thanks to coronavirus panic buying. Conde Nast, Meredith and Hearst say Covid-19 hoarding actually helped with sales as shoppers bought items to shelter in place....
Meredith Plans to Launch Two Magazines During Pandemic
New York Post: Meredith is going ahead with two magazine launches this year. Copies of a new women’s personal finance title called Millie is being mailed this week to subscribers to Real Simple. Meredith is also launching a magazine with Food Network chef Ayesha...
Bauer, Meredith on Edge as US Newsstands Try to Hang On
Folio: As Covid-19 continues to disrupt every corner of the economy, questions about the viability of the newsstand are glaring. "We wouldn’t be surprised if we saw some decline due to foot traffic," said Steven Kotok, CEO of Bauer Media...
Vox Media’s Recode Founder Signs with United Talent Agency
Variety: United Talent Agency has signed author, journalist and Recode co-founder Kara Swisher. The agency will work with Swisher to generate opportunities across digital, publishing, news and broadcast, speaking engagements, film and television, and other...
Group Nine Media Lays Off About 50 Staffers Amid Pandemic
Axios: Group Nine Media, which includes digital brands like The Dodo, NowThis, Thrillist, Seeker and PopSugar, is laying off 7% of its employees. A smaller percentage of staffers will be furloughed. The cuts will impact people who work across most of the company's...
BuzzFeed to Back Away from Operations in Germany, Brazil
@DylanByers: BuzzFeed is jettisoning offices in Germany and Brazil, per an internal memo: "We've begun a search for business partners to take over our brands and operations in both markets. If we aren't able to identify partners, we will unfortunately have to cease...
Patch Media Makes Money in Local News as Rivals Struggle
Axios: Patch, the hyperlocal (and profitable) digital news platform, had its strongest month ever in March for both revenue and traffic, according to president Warren St. John. The digital-only local news platform is an anomaly compared other local news...
Apple, Disney to Join Old, New Media for All-Star TV Special
Associated Press: Lady Gaga and advocacy group Global Citizen are planning a TV special featuring top music acts to entertain during the coronavirus pandemic. It will air April 18 on ABC, NBC and CBS, and stream live on YouTube, Apple, Facebook, Instagram and...
Disney Former CEO Gets Paparazzi Treatment While Jogging
Daily Mail: Bob Iger enjoyed some fresh air and exercise with his family in California amid the Covid-19 outbreak. The 69-year-old Disney boss was seen with his wife, Willow Bay, and their two sons in Los Angeles wearing near-matching athletic clothes during a...
Fox Former Execs Face Bribery Charge Amid Soccer Probe
Reuters: US prosecutors accused two former 21st Century Fox execs of paying millions of dollars in bribes to secure lucrative media and marketing rights to soccer matches, the latest charges in a long-running investigation of corruption surrounding...
ViacomCBS Forms Venture Fund in Buy of Israeli TV Outfit
World Screen: ViacomCBS Networks International is acquiring the Israeli content producer and pay-TV channel provider Ananey Communications Group. Ananey's founder will stay on in a new role as as general partner of a newly formed venture capital...
Comcast’s NBC to Reduce Ads, Devote More Time to News
CNBC: NBCUniversal said it’s reducing commercial time and offering resources like more access to talent and remote production without fees to its advertising partners. It comes as the company says marketers are pausing advertising plans or shifting...
ViacomCBS to Use FaceTime, Zoon for TV Episode on CBS
Bloomberg: CBS plans to use FaceTime, Zoom and other apps to make a new episode of the drama "All Rise" that deals with the coronavirus crisis, a novel way to churn out shows even with production shut down by the pandemic....
Disney Releases Home-Produced Video Shorts of ‘Frozen’
The Verge: Just in case "Frozen 2" on Disney Plus isn't enough to keep kids entertained while they're stuck at home, Disney animator Hyrum Osmond and actor Josh Gad have teamed up to produce a new series of shorts available on...
Amazon to Stream ‘Fleabag’ Stage Show for Fund-Raiser
Hollywood Reporter: A theatrical production of Phoebe Waller-Bridge's "Fleabag" is set to stream on Amazon and the Soho Theatre's On Demand in April to raise money for frontline health services as well as creative freelancers affected by the Covid-19...
Quibi Revamps Messaging in Appeal to Homebound Users
Adweek: Quibi — which was created and has been marketed to on-the-go audiences — has had to revamp its campaign in the home stretch now that those potential subscribers are housebound and no longer on-the-go. "People still have those in-between...
Verizon Effort to Give Students Free Digital New York Times
Multichannel News: Verizon has teamed with the New York Times to provide free digital access to the newspaper's website to students. This partnership will help to keep students "educated, informed and connected," Verizon said. "This is a difficult...
New York Times’s Advertising is ‘Way Down,’ Trump Tweets
Mediaite: President Trump took shots at the New York Times and the Washington Post on Twitter, boasting that ad revenue is down because of the coronavirus crisis. "Advertising in the Failing New York Times is WAY down. Washington Post is not much...