Top Stories

  • Walmart Inc. is selling its on-demand video streaming service Vudu — which reaches more than 100 million U.S. living room devices and has been installed more than 14.5 million times on mobile devices — to movie ticketing company Fandango. While terms of the sale and details of how Fandango will leverage Vudu were not disclosed, the service could be integrated with Fandango’s four-year old movie streaming platform, FandangoNow, which has become more essential as the coronavirus pandemic closes movie theaters and disrupts Fandango’s ticketing operations. (TechCrunch)
  • Sports-starved fans made the Michael Jordan docuseries “The Last Dance” the most-watched ESPN documentary ever, averaging 6.1 million viewers Sunday night for its premiere, including 3.5 million among those ages 18-49. The 10-part series will air on Sunday nights through May 17. (CNN)
  • A reopening plan from Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp would allow movie theaters to begin opening their doors on April 27, despite guidance from the White House to prohibit gatherings of 10 people or more unless jurisdictions have met certain criteria. (The Hollywood Reporter)

Chart Review

Events Calendar (All Times Local)

04/21/2020
Discover MarTech: A Virtual Event For Strategies & Solutions
Netflix to Announce First-Quarter 2020 Financial Results 1:00 pm
04/22/2020
Adweek Presents: The Way Forward – Entertainment and Esports 3:00 pm
Discover MarTech: A Virtual Event For Strategies & Solutions
04/23/2020
Discover MarTech: A Virtual Event For Strategies & Solutions
04/24/2020
Verizon Communications Inc. Q1 Earnings Call 8:30 am
View full calendar

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General

Annapurna Pictures Lays Off CFO James Pong, Film and TV Executives
Matt Donnelly and Justin Kroll, Variety

Megan Ellison’s Annapurna Pictures has enacted a round of layoffs, reaching as high as chief financial officer James Pong, insiders told Variety.

Meredith Corp cuts pay for 60% of employees amid COVID-19
Arriana McLymore, Reuters

People Magazine owner Meredith Corp, will temporarily cut pay for 60% of its employees and paused its dividend as advertising revenue takes a hit during the coronavirus outbreak, the company announced on Monday.

Guild Coalition Reaches Out to About 500,000 Members Over Virus Relief Efforts
Jonathan Handel, The Hollywood Reporter

Unions signaled a focus on safety measures necessary for production to resume, as well.

Charter Promises No Layoffs or Employee Furloughs for 60 Days
Todd Spangler, Variety

Amid the backdrop of the COVID-19 crisis, cable giant Charter Communications announced that it will not lay off or furlough any employees for at least the next 60 days.

Bon Jovi Cancels 2020 Tour, Rather Than Postponing: ‘This Will Enable Ticketholders to Get Refunds’
Michele Amabile Angermiller, Variety

Bon Jovi announced Monday that it has canceled its 2020 tour dates with Bryan Adams due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Bamberger Joins Amobee as Chief Commercial Officer
Jon Lafayette, Broadcasting & Cable

Advertising technology company Amobee said it named Jack Bamberger as chief commercial officer, a new position.

NYC LGBTQ Pride March canceled for first time in half-century
Tim Fitzsimons, NBC News

The NYC Pride March has been canceled for the first time in its half-century history, along with all in-person events leading up to the annual June event, which draws millions of participants and revelers every year.

Film

Venice Film Festival Still a Go Amid Coronavirus Pandemic
Jennifer Maas and Brian Welk, The Wrap

The 2020 Venice Film Festival is still set to take place this September amid the coronavirus pandemic.

‘The Batman’ Moves Back Amid Warner Bros. Date Shuffle
Pamela McClintock and Aaron Couch, The Hollywood Reporter

The film’s release date has been delayed from June 2021 to October 2021. More immediately, the studio is pushing ‘Sopranos’ prequel ‘The Many Saints of Newark’ and ‘King Richard’ out of 2020 entirely.

Television

Even Soap Operas Are Running Out of Episodes Because of the Coronavirus
Josef Adalian, Vulture

Tune in tomorrow while you can: Long-running daytime soaps The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful, which halted production last month in the wake of the coronavirus crisis, are about to run out of original episodes. 

TV Ad Spending Will Decline by at Least $7.5 Billion in First Half of 2020 Amid Pandemic

Tim Baysinger, The Wrap
Nicole Perrin, eMarketer principal analyst, says “campaigns likely fear it will seem insensitive” to campaign during coronavirus

AT&T Seeks Delay of Carriage License Sunset, Citing Pandemic
John Eggerton, Broadcasting & Cable

AT&T is telling Congress that this week it will begin notifying thousands of its DirecTV subs that they will lose access to network affiliate TV stations over the satellite service beginning June 1, as Congress mandated.

How Is ‘American Idol’ Going to Go Live During the Pandemic? The Producers Say They Have a Plan For That
Gil Kaufman, Billboard

Imagine filming a summer action blockbuster in your basement. Or trying to pull off a heavyweight boxing match with the fighters in two different states. 

Ashleigh Banfield Returns To Court TV As Contributor
Denise Petski, Deadline Hollywood

Ashleigh Banfield, a host on the original Court TV, is returning to the rebooted network as a special contributor.

The call for federal support of local news is getting louder
Kerry Flynn, CNN

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are getting louder in their call for the federal government to provide financial support for local news as the already struggling industry suffers another blow from the coronavirus pandemic’s impact.

Technology and New Media

Travis Scott is going to debut his next song on Fortnite as part of virtual tour
Brett Molina, USA Today

Epic Games, the creators of the popular video game, announced Monday the musician will premiere a brand new song as part of an “Astronomical” experience within Fortnite.

ViacomCBS International Studios, Fremantle Team for Short-Form Series ‘Balcony Stories’
Tim Dams, Variety

ViacomCBS International Studios (VIS) has gone into production on “Balcony Stories,” a slate of user-generated, short-form content to mark the ways people are experiencing coronavirus lockdown.

ABC’s ‘Disney Family Singalong’ Heads to Disney Plus
Tim Dams, Variety

Disney Plus is making hit ABC television special “The Disney Family Singalong” available to subscribers of its new streaming platform.

FCC OKs T-Mobile/Dish MVNO
John Eggerton, Broadcasting & Cable

The FCC is satisfied that the MVNO (mobile virtual network operator) agreement the combined T-Mobile-Sprint has created for Boost Mobile passes muster. 

Kept home by COVID-19, U.S. politics goes virtual with digital dance parties and avatars
Sharon Bernstein and Makini Brice, Reuters

When stay-at-home orders sparked by the coronavirus forced him to find new ways to reach young voters ahead of the November U.S. election, Felix Clarke turned to an online computer game.

Plunge in digital ad prices opens spending opportunity for start-ups in gaming, e-commerce and online education
Ari Levy and Megan Graham, CNBC

Facebook, Google and Twitter are seeing ad prices drop precipitously as companies in travel, entertainment and physical retail freeze spending.

Musicians Turn to Streaming Concerts From Home to Pay the Bills
Lucas Shaw, Bloomberg Businessweek

Covid-19 has left an estimated multibillion-dollar hole in the ticket sales that account for most of performers’ income.

Opinions, Editorials, Perspectives and Research

The Last Dance Reignites the NBA’s Greatest Debate: Jordan or LeBron?
Christopher Rosen, Vanity Fair

Who is basketball’s one true GOAT? Director Jason Hehir has some thoughts on the subject.

The Secret of Scooby-Doo’s Enduring Appeal
Christopher Orr, The Atlantic

Why on earth has the formulaic series, which debuted half a century ago, outlasted just about everything else on television?

Morning Consult