Reuters Institute Chief: Many News Outlets Won’t Survive
Reuters Institute: "To be brutally honest," writes Rasmus Nielsen, director of the Reuters Institute. "I think a lot of news media won’t make it, including both legacy and new entrants. Some start-ups will disappear entirely. But I also think there is an opportunity...
Media M&A Set for New ‘Roaring ‘20s’ After Coronavirus
Observer: Theaters, theme parks, excursions and production companies are forecast to be high on the list for future acquisitions when business resumes after the coronavirus pandemic. "Lifting rules on social distancing will lead to a resurgence of in-person...
Disney, Comcast Want Cash Amid Escalation of Pandemic
Deadline: Comcast has raised $4 billion from the sale of debt securities, in the midst of an escalating economic crisis, following Disney, which raised $6 billion last Friday. "This goes to the saying that use raise money when you can, not when you need it," according...
Apple Mulls Delay of New iPhone Over Coronavirus Crisis
Nikkei Asian Review: Apple is preparing the ground to possibly delay the launch of its first 5G iPhones, as the coronavirus pandemic threatens global demand and disrupts product development schedules. The tech giant has held internal talks on the possibility of...
Google, Facebook to Rake In Billions Despite Big Ad Loss
Variety: 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. Still, they're projected to continue to raking...
Fox Corp, iHeartMedia Tap Elton John for Benefit Concert
Associated Press: Elton John is hosting a "living room" concert aimed at bolstering American spirits during the coronavirus crisis. Alicia Keys, Billie Eilish, Mariah Carey and Tim McGraw are scheduled to take part in the event airing Sunday on Fox TV and on...
Comcast, Disney See a Viewership Surge in Broadcast TV
Reuters: Netflix was expected to be a major beneficiary of the stay at home directives. However, multiple shows on traditional television, including “The Good Doctor” on ABC, “The Masked Singer” on Fox and “Survivor” on CBS are also seeing a surge in...
AMC Furloughs CEO, Employees as Movie Theaters Shutter
Reuters: AMC, the world's largest theater operator, has placed its chief executive and all of its corporate employees on furlough to preserve cash during the coronavirus outbreak. AMC’s 1,000 theaters around the world were closed last week to help prevent the...
AT&T, Comcast New Streamers Still on Schedule to Debut
Adweek: So far, it’s still all systems go for three major upcoming streaming services — HBO Max, Peacock and Quibi — which will make their debuts in a much different entertainment landscape, and a possibly very locked-down populace, despite coronavirus-related...
Netflix Outage Briefly Knocks Off Users Across US, Europe
Bloomberg: Netflix customers suffered outages on Wednesday, at a time when coronavirus lockdowns have caused home viewing to surge, but the streaming giant says the problem has been resolved. "Some of our members in the U.S. and Europe were unable to use Netflix for...
Pinterest Launches ‘Today’ Tab Amid Record High Traffic
Mobile Marketer: Pinterest this week introduced a "Today" tab as a hub for daily inspiration, trending posts and curated topics as traffic surges to a record during the coronavirus pandemic. The social media company plans to feature expert information on COVID-19...
ByteDance’s TikTok Anoints 15 Year-Old as No 1 Creator
Business Insider: Charli D'Amelio, age 15, is now the most popular creator on TikTok, the viral video-sharing app where she has reached 41.4 million followers. Since her first video went viral on the platform in July 2019, she's signed with a talent agency and...
Fox Corp News Pundits Volunteer to Die to Save Economy
Vanity Fair: Fox News regular and radio host Buck Sexton wants America "to go back to work very soon, even if that means there are more casualties from COVID-19 than would occur under this continued extreme shutdown…It is reality and we need to accept and act on...
News Corp Flags Layoffs, Pay Cuts at Aussie Newspapers
Sydney Morning Herald: News Corp Australia's executives will take a "significant" pay cut as the company flags a round of redundancies to cope with the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. "It is now clear that some job losses will be...
Hearst Content Chief Urges Media Pros to Diversify Skills
Fashionista: "Diversifying your skill set is really important," advises Hearst Magazines content chief Kate Lewis. "So playing with other types of media feels more relevant now than ever. Many of the people that appear in videos for us or even are producing them...
Conde Nast Nabs Top Editor from Vice’s Garage Magazine
WWD: Mark Guiducci is leaving Vice-owned Garage magazine after three years as editor in chief and returning to Vogue on Monday to take on the new role of creative editorial director. Although the position is new, Guiducci is no stranger to Vogue and Conde...
Maven Media Seeks Covid-19 Balance at Sports illustrated
Adweek: The task ahead for Sports Illustrated, as for all media organizations, is determining what level of appetite consumers will have for coronavirus-related stories versus stories not related to the pandemic. "A lot of it's gut, a lot of it's let's throw out as...
Future Media Furloughs W Magazine Staff Due to Downturn
New York Post: W magazine has had to furlough staff amid the coronavirus pandemic. Parent company Future Media Group has laid off 17 out of 58 employees. "The goal is to welcome back employees soon," said an insider of the temporary...
BuzzFeed Slashes Employee Pay in Effort to Avoid Layoffs
Daily Beast: BuzzFeed is cutting pay for its employees as the company attempts to weather the coronavirus pandemic. In an internal memo, the company announced a graduated salary reduction for the majority of employees for the months of April and...
Comcast, Discovery to Feel Impact from Delay of Olympics
Wall Street Journal: The postponement of the Tokyo Olympics to 2021 will have important ramifications for media giants Comcast and Discovery, depriving them of at least a billion ad dollars this year and taking away a critical launchpad for their other...
Fox Corp’s HQ Faces Increase in Staffers with Coronavirus
Deadline: Fox News said Tuesday that two more employees have tested positive for the coronavirus, bringing to six the number of staffers who have contracted the illness. One of the employees worked on the 43rd floor and another worked on the 20th...
AT&T’s Warner Bros Postpones Another Major Film Release
CNBC: "Wonder Woman 1984" is the latest Hollywood blockbuster to leave its original theatrical release date as the coronavirus continues to spread globally. The superhero flick staring Gal Gadot will now arrive in cinemas Aug. 14, instead of its initial June 5...
Disney’s New Streamer Arrives in Europe Amid Quarantines
CNBC: Disney launched its streaming service Disney+ in the U.K. and Europe on Tuesday, at the height of a global coronavirus pandemic that has forced citizens across the region to remain indoors. The app is now available for users in most European...
Netflix Market Cap Surpasses Disney as Viewers Stay Home
Bloomberg: Disney shares have tumbled amid the coronavirus pandemic, and the sell-off has resulted in a smaller valuation than video-streaming company Netflix, a reflection of what segments of the media ecosystem are favored in an uncertain...
Google Cuts YouTube Video Quality Worldwide for a Month
Bloomberg: YouTube will reduce the quality of videos around the world, an effort by the world's most popular video website to help ease internet traffic during the coronavirus outbreak. Over the coming days, viewers will at first see videos on YouTube in standard...
Twitter Pledges $1 Million Donation to Support Journalism
TechCrunch: Twitter announced that it planned to donate $1 million equally between two organizations, the Committee to Protect Journalists and the International Women’s Media Foundation, to further their work specifically related to supporting those reporting on...
Microsoft Ex-CEO Buys Los Angeles Forum for $400 Million
CNBC: Steve Ballmer, the former CEO of Microsoft, through his company CAPSS, has reached an agreement to purchase The Forum entertainment complex in Inglewood, California from Madison Square Garden Company for $400 million in...
Spotify, Amazon, YouTube Join Music Industry Relief Fund
Variety: Amazon Music, Facebook, SiriusXM-Pandora, Spotify, Tidal, and YouTube Music announced that they are contributing to the COVID-19 Relief Fund announced last week by the Recording Academy’s charitable foundation MusiCares to support music industry workers in...
iHeartMedia Stations Across US Play the National Anthem
Inside Radio: All 850-plus iHeartMedia radio stations played a version of the national anthem on Monday at noon ET, in a gesture of solidarity amidst the coronavirus pandemic. Following the playing of "The Star-Spangled Banner," a recorded statement from CEO Bob...
Fox Corp’s News Channel Hosts Push to End Quarantines
Daily Beast: President Trump has begun to suggest social-distancing and quarantining measures may need to end soon so as to prevent economic damage. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this has also become a running narrative pushed among many of the president’s favorite Fox News...