Politics and Hollywood 

• AT&T Inc. and Comcast Corp. halted political donations to lawmakers who opposed the certification of electoral votes, with Comcast saying in a statement that the pause will give the company “the opportunity to review our political giving policies and practices.” The news comes after Hallmark Cards Inc. asked Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) to return political donations.

• The Motion Picture Association and Walt Disney Co. also paused donations to lawmakers who opposed certifying election results. A Disney spokesperson said donations to those members of Congress would be halted for the year, while Patrick Kilcur, the MPA’s executive vice president of U.S. Government Affairs, said the MPA will suspend donations “for the foreseeable future.”

• Lady Gaga and Jennifer Lopez will perform as part of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration this week, with Lady Gaga singing the National Anthem and Lopez participating in a musical number, according to the Presidential Inaugural Committee. 

Streaming 

• For the first time, a non-Netflix Inc. program topped Nielsen Holdings PLC’s list of the top 10 streaming programs, with the Disney+ original “The Mandalorian” coming in at No. 1, as viewers spent 1.34 billion minutes watching the series from Dec. 14-20. The rest of the top titles were from Netflix, with “The Office” (which was still on the platform at the time) and “The Crown” finishing second and third, respectively.

• “The Office” was the most-watched TV show on streaming platforms last year, with viewers spending more than 57 billion minutes watching the sitcom, while Netflix’s “Ozark” was the most-viewed original series (more than 30 billion minutes), according to data from Nielsen. Just one non-Netflix TV show — Disney+’s “The Mandalorian” — was among the most-watched TV programs, but seven of the top 10 films were Disney titles.

• Nielsen will introduce a new measurement tool, called theatrical video on-demand, to track the viewing of premium video on-demand titles this year. It’s unclear how often new viewership numbers will be shared, but the TVOD measurements will not include films that come with a streaming service subscription. 

Netflix 

• Netflix released its first diversity and inclusion report, noting that women accounted for 47 percent of its employees worldwide last year — up 7 points from 2017 — while in its U.S. workforce, the share of Black employees more than doubled to 8 percent and the share of Hispanic employees was 8.1 percent, up from 6 percent. Verna Myers, Netflix’s head of diversity and inclusion, said that, while the company is more diverse than others in the technology space, there is room for improvement, and Netflix plans to bring in a variety of creators from underrepresented groups.

• Netflix plans to debut more than 70 new films this year, with a new title hitting the platform every week. Scott Stuber, who oversees original films for the streamer, said Netflix remains open to acquiring films from other studios that are shifting theatrical releases to streaming platforms, noting that “there are a few acquisitions percolating.”

• Kevin Hart inked a deal with Netflix to star in and produce four feature films for the streamer before his production banner, HartBeat Productions, begins a first-look deal with Netflix. Hart is currently preparing to film a Netflix limited series that is not part of the new deal. 

Fox News 

• Fox News is shifting its schedule, replacing Martha MacCallum’s 7 p.m. news program “The Story” with an additional hour of opinion programming beginning tomorrow. MacCallum will transition to leading the network’s 3 p.m. hour of programming, and Fox News will try out different hosts in MacCallum’s former time slot, with Brian Kilmeade of “Fox & Friends” getting the first chance. 

COVID-19 and Hollywood 

• After pausing production due to a surge of COVID-19 cases in Los Angeles, Warner Bros., CBS Studios and Sony resumed production on TV shows — including “NCIS” and “The Goldbergs” — last week, according to sources, with Netflix and Walt Disney Co. expected to restart filming this week. A SAG-AFTRA spokesperson said that, given the strain on the health care system, it’s “hard to understand how an increase in production in this environment makes a lot of sense,” while FilmLA spokesperson Philip Sokoloski noted that all calls for a pause in production have not been an instruction but rather a guidance.

• The 27th Screen Actors Guild Awards were rescheduled for a second time, moving from mid-March to April 4. The change was made to accommodate the Grammy Awards, which shifted its January ceremony to March 14 due to the escalating COVID-19 situation in Los Angeles. 

Diversity 

• The share of regularly appearing L.G.B.T.Q. characters in prime-time scripted broadcast television shows in the 2020-21 season decreased for the first time in five years, coming in at 9.1 percent, down roughly 1 point from the previous season, according to Glaad’s “Where We Are on TV” report. The decrease was attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic, which halted production on some series featuring L.G.B.T.Q. characters. 

Theme parks 

• Disney’s Disneyland and Disney California Adventure theme parks are sunsetting their annual pass programs — which were reportedly used by 1 million customers — and will introduce new membership options featuring different tiers, according to Ken Potrock, Disneyland Resort president. It’s not clear when the new offerings will be made available — though they will likely make their debut after the pandemic — but Disneyland passholders will be given refunds.

• A virtual edition of the Arthouse Convergence Conference kicks off today and runs through Thursday.

• Netflix is scheduled to report fourth-quarter earnings on Tuesday.

• Variety’s Streaming Room will host a Q&A with the team behind “One Night in Miami” on Thursday.

• Wednesday is Inauguration Day. In addition to performances from Lady Gaga and Jennifer Lopez, Bruce Springsteen, the Foo Fighters and John Legend will share remote performances as part of a televised special.

• This year’s digital edition of the Sundance Film Festival will run Jan. 28-Feb. 3, where 72 feature films — including Warner Bros.’ “Judas and the Black Messiah” — and 50 shorts will premiere.

1) Why a Vogue Cover Created an Uproar Over Kamala Harris
Vanessa Friedman, The New York Times 

2) How Lizzie McGuire Reinvented Tween TV and Became a Millennial Obsession
Ashley Spencer, Vice

3) ‘Ozark,’ ‘The Office’ Lead Nielsen’s 2020 Streaming Rankings
Rick Porter, The Hollywood Reporter 

4) The Future Of Video Gaming Is Bright—Even As Real Experiences Return
Nielsen 

5) New research shows the average US household now subscribes to 4 streaming services — and it could lead to a major shift in the market
Travis Clark, Business Insider Prime 

6) 2021 in Podcasting: Now What?
Nicholas Quah, Vulture 

7) Disneyland to Become Mass Covid-19 Vaccination Site
Deadline Hollywood 

8) Media could be rocked by major deals in 2021 — including a merger of WarnerMedia and NBCUniversal and takeover of MGM
Claire Atkinson and Ashley Rodriguez, Business Insider Prime 

9) Discovery+ Has Star Power and Exclusive Content. But Do People Know What’s Exactly on It?
Sarah Shevenock, Morning Consult 

10) Netflix Film Chief Scott Stuber on Streamer’s Stacked 2021 Slate and Saving the Rom-Com
Matt Donnelly, Variety