• Reed Hastings, Netflix Inc.’s co-chief executive, said in an interview that the streaming service doesn’t have plans to purchase a movie theater chain or expand into the theatrical world, and will instead keep its focus on internet content and improving its series and films, but he added that he would like Netflix to invest more in family animation in an effort to compete with Walt Disney Co. (The Hollywood Reporter)

• Thirty-two of the 100 highest grossing films from 2019 featured leading or co-leading characters from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups — up from 27 in 2018 — while the number of films with a woman in a leading or co-leading role increased from 39 to 43 last year, according to a study from the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. The study found that 95 of the top 100 films would meet at least one of the new inclusion requirements set by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for its 2024 Best Picture nominees, while 71 would meet a second requirement and therefore be eligible to compete for best picture. (Variety) 

• Megyn Kelly is launching Devil May Care Media, a self-funded media company whose first project — a podcast titled  “The Megyn Kelly Show” — will debut later this month, with the program expected to air a few episodes each week. Kelly has teamed with Red Seat Ventures to produce the podcast and find advertisers for the program. (The Wall Street Journal)

Recorded music revenue is up on streaming growth, as physical sales plummet
Brian Heater, TechCrunch 

With touring ground to a halt for the foreseeable future, 2020 has become the most difficult year for musicians in recent memory. One’s ability to survive on music depends on a variety of factors, of course, including things like audience, reach and how their fans access their output.

AMC’s CEO describes coronavirus precautions, including upgraded air filtration at reopened theaters
Kevin Stankiewicz, CNBC 

AMC Entertainment CEO Adam Aron told CNBC on Thursday that the company has been pleased with the reopening of its movie theaters following coronavirus-induced closures, citing positive reactions from attendees.  

Disney CFO Admits Filming ‘Mulan’ in Xinjiang Has ‘Generated A Lot of Issues’
Rebecca Davis, Variety 

Disney’s chief financial officer Christine McCarthy acknowledged Thursday that the company’s choice to shoot parts of “Mulan” in China’s Xinjiang region has “generated a lot of issues for us.”

Alamo Drafthouse Brooklyn Employees Petition for Hazard Pay and Health Insurance for All
Chris Lindahl, IndieWire

Cinemas in New York remain closed, but the still-furloughed employees at Alamo Drafthouse’s Downtown Brooklyn location are petitioning the company for increased pandemic protections that include hazard pay and health insurance benefits for all workers.

How Marvel’s Marketing Machine Pivoted in a Blockbuster-less Summer
Mitch Reames, Adweek 

Since 2010, a summer hasn’t passed without a Marvel Cinematic Universe blockbuster. This year it was supposed to be Black Widow, the long-awaited backstory of Scarlett Johansson’s character who has been a through line of the series since Iron Man 2. 

‘Saturday Night Live’ Returns to Studio for 46th Season
Rick Porter, The Hollywood Reporter 

Saturday Night Live is getting back into the studio to start its 46th season on NBC. The sketch comedy series has set Oct. 3 for its season premiere, once again airing live across the country at 11:30 p.m. ET/8:30 p.m. PT. 

ABC Sets Fall Premiere Dates for Wednesday Night Comedies, Including ‘Black-ish,’ ‘The Conners’
Reid Nakamura, The Wrap 

ABC has announced fall premiere dates for its Wednesday night comedy lineup, including “The Goldbergs,” “The Conners,” “black-ish” and “American Housewife.”

‘Walking Dead’ Ending Leaves an Ad Hole in AMC’s Zombie Universe
Gerry Smith, Bloomberg 

AMC Networks Inc.’s “The Walking Dead” will end after its 11th season, leaving a large void at a media company that has relied on the popular zombie series to attract viewers and advertisers.

The NFL Returns, Giving Struggling Networks a $5 Billion Ad Revenue Lifeline
Jason Lynch, Adweek 

After most professional sports were sidelined in March by Covid-19, several leagues, including the MLB and NBA, have returned in the past two months to great audience and advertiser excitement.

Children’s Programming and Animation Serve as the Playground for Disabled Characters
Kristen Lopez, IndieWire 

Animation and children’s programming long have been at the forefront of disability representation. They’ve never solely been focused on introducing disability in children’s lives early — more often than not, they are creating fully-fleshed out characters to help children who might be disabled themselves.

How The CW’s ‘Aggressive’ Pursuit of International Shows Has Paid Off
Margeaux Sippell, The Wrap Pro 

When the pandemic forced TV productions to shut down in March, networks were faced with a dilemma — how could they plan their summer and fall TV schedules without knowing when shooting would resume? One clever way some networks have been able to fill out their primetime lineup is by acquiring shows that have already aired overseas, importing fully prepared seasons that would be new to American audiences.

Showtime’s The Comey Rule Hopes to Join ‘National Conversation’ Ahead of Election
Kelsey Sutton, Adweek 

Showtime’s anticipated two-night limited series The Comey Rule will revisit some of the most contentious events leading up to the 2016 presidential election, just weeks before the 2020 election is held.

Netflix Rolls Out First Global Brand Campaign to Continue Originals Momentum
Kelsey Sutton, Adweek 

As Netflix has seen near-record viewership throughout the pandemic, the streamer is hoping to amplify its originals even further and continue its momentum into the fall.

Inside Netflix’s Surprising TV Chief Shake-Up
Lelsey Goldberg et al., The Hollywood Reporter 

On Wednesday, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos gathered employees for a virtual town hall to explain the rationale behind the TV executive shake-up that had rippled through Hollywood the evening prior. He had decided to promote Bela Bajaria to vp global television and say goodbye to his longtime right-hand Cindy Holland, he told staffers, because he wanted to streamline the reporting process within the TV group.

Streaming TV Shows Have ‘Substantially More’ Female Protagonists Than Broadcast or Cable, New Study Finds
Tim Baysinger, The Wrap 

When it comes to female representation, both in front of and behind the camera, streaming provides “substantially more” opportunities compared to its broadcast and cable counterparts.

Apple confirms the ‘Apple One’ subscription bundle in its own Apple Music app’s code
Sarah Perez, TechCrunch 

It looks like those reports about Apple’s forthcoming subscription bundle were accurate. According to strings of code found within the latest release of the Apple  Music app for Android devices (ver. 3.4.0 beta), Apple references a new product it’s calling “Apple One.”

Kardashians could ink streaming deal with Netflix, Apple or Amazon soon
Oli Coleman, Page Six 

Just because the Kardashians have axed their reality show, it doesn’t mean they’re leaving TV screens. Insiders expect the family to have a big streaming deal within a year, they told Page Six — and a source close to the family said they’re even mulling starting “their own media company.”

Joe Exotic Series Starring Nicolas Cage Lands at Amazon for Development
Joe Otterson, Variety 

The scripted series about “Tiger King’s” Joe Exotic starring Nicolas Cage has been set up at Amazon for development, Variety has learned.

Epic says ‘Sign In with Apple’ will keep working for Fortnite after all
Jay Peters, The Verge 

Just yesterday, Epic said that as soon as Friday, Apple would no longer let people use its single sign-on solution, “Sign In with Apple,” to access their Epic Games account. That would mean that anyone who relied on their Apple credentials to log in to Epic services like Fortnite and the Epic Games Store would lose access when Apple pulled the plug, unless they changed their account first.

Superstar Gamer Tyler “Ninja” Blevins Returns to Twitch
Natalie Jarvey, The Hollywood Reporter 

A little more than a year after gamer Tyler “Ninja” Blevins left Twitch for rival platform Mixer, the streamer is returning to his former home. Blevins has inked an exclusive multiyear deal with Twitch, the Amazon-owned game streaming platform where he built a large following and became a globally recognized professional gamer. 

The Grammy Museum built a streaming service to share its archives
Christine Fisher, Engadget 

Since the Grammy Museum closed at the beginning of the pandemic, most of the filmed interviews and performances in its archives have remained locked behind its downtown LA doors. The museum is working to change that with a new subscription-based streaming service. 

Netflix Just Disrupted Itself. Why?
Josef Adalian, Vulture

If Reed Hastings and Ted Sarandos are the public faces of Netflix, English-language content chief Cindy Holland has long been the heart and soul of the streamer’s domestic programming operation. 

There’s No Excuse for Failing the Oscars’ Diversity Requirements
David Sims, The Atlantic

Five years after the #OscarsSoWhite movement began, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is again turning its attention to Hollywood diversity. Yesterday, the organization announced new inclusion requirements that seem bold at first glance, a drastic remit to studios about the kinds of stories that deserve a Best Picture Oscar. 

Keeping Up With the Kardashians Changed TV, Then Outgrew It
Willa Paskin, Slate

In August of 2008, I was an associate editor at an upstart magazine that had already folded twice and, in a few months’ time, would do so again. It was a rambunctious, disordered, and energetic place, blatantly dysfunctional but with a pugnacious esprit de corps.