coronavirus

The Tokyo Olympics will take place between July 23 – August 8 2021, following the postponement of this year’s event due to the coronavirus outbreak. The International Olympic Committee confirmed the news Monday.

As lockdowns and stay-in-place orders continue to be extended in countries around the world, millions of people are spending their days frequenting online publications to find out the latest about the COVID-19 pandemic. That’s part of the reason Facebook has announced it will spend an additional $100 million to support the news industry during the crisis.

The coronavirus is likely to hasten the end of advertising-driven media, Ben Smith writes. And government should not rescue it.

The coronavirus briefings have given Donald Trump a regularly scheduled reality show again — or, rather, a create-your-own-reality show.

The story of international sports over the past decade was one of unlimited growth, unrestrained spending and unwavering popularity. Coronavirus brought the sports business to an immediate standstill. The boom times went bust overnight. Now, owners, players and networks try to figure out the future.

Despite recently initiated efforts by major platforms to throttle back their use of the internet’s bandwidth during the surging use driven by the coronavirus pandemic, the internet is showing growing signs of strain. Potential shutdowns or compromised net service are of grave concern to governments and health care professionals around the world, of course.

Global TV executives are exchanging rosé on the Croisette for video conferencing as the event goes virtual for the first time. “The question is if we even need a physical market anymore, crisis or no crisis.”

A solid business contingency plan gave Fox-owned WTTG and WDCA in Washington, D.C., a leg up in pivoting for the coronavirus pandemic. VP and GM Patrick Paolini says a priority now is staying on top of the news deluge while keeping staffers and advertisers calm amid the uncertainty.

With most of the nation sheltering in place because of the coronavirus outbreak, CBS said today it will air an isolation concert special featuring Garth Brooks and wife Trisha Yearwood on Wednesday, April 1. The primetime special titled Garth & Trisha: Live! will feature the award-winning artists performing live from their home recording studio known as Studio G.

Maria Mercader, a veteran CBS News staffer, died at age 54 Sunday from coronavirus complications after being on medical leave since February. Mercader battled cancer and other illnesses for two decades, and said that the treatments left her vulnerable to the virus.

The credit card giant’s Team Visa scheme features 96 athletes across 27 sports, including soccer star Megan Rapinoe, gymnast Simone Biles — a quadruple gold medalist at the Rio de Janeiro Games — and two-time defending 800-meter Olympic champion David Rudisha.

Block Communications-owned WDRB in Louisville, Ky. is airing and streaming 30-second updates on the coronavirus pandemic. The segments, produced by its marketing department and hosted by its anchors, are revised throughout the day.

Steve Hartman’s “On the Road” segments are a hallmark of the CBS Evening News and CBS Sunday Morning and are highly popular with classroom teachers, who use them as teaching tools. Now sidelined because of the coronavirus pandemic, he says, “It’s certainly going to be hard to get the emotional stories we seek, over Skype.”

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s daily media briefings offer “a strangely compelling mix that is part “West Wing” revival, part therapy session and most important, a credible source of important information about the contagion,” writes Cynthia Littleton.

Hank Stuever: “In two-plus weeks of staying home, I’ve renewed my faith in the broadcast networks’ nightly newscasts, perhaps out of some faintly nostalgic idea that watching it is what grown-ups do, come hell or high water. People who long ago gave up the habit — or never acquired it — are finding a similar solace at the end of the day with a half-hour of ABC’s David Muir or NBC’s Lester Holt or the CBS Evening News’s Norah O’Donnell.”

“We recognize that part of our role as a locally owned and operated television station is to support and help neighbors and businesses in need,” said Joel Davis, WRAL general manager.

The 66-year-old entertainment icon is quarantining and self-isolating at home with longtime partner Steadman Graham staying in the guest house, but she is still working. Winfrey interviewed actor Idris Elba, who tested positive for coronavirus, via FaceTime for an episode of Oprah Talks: COVID-19 on Apple TV.

Tamron Hall will return beginning March 30 with new segments originating from her home and focused on COVID-19, buttressed with encore segments from previous shows. The show, recently renewed for a second season, shut down two weeks ago when the coronavirus crisis began.

The three new streamers are poised to premiere in a coronavirus-spurred moment of surging viewership. “This might be the most unique moment in history to launch a streaming service,” says one analyst, but economic realities may prove a harsh awakening.

News executives from NBC, ABC and CBS pledge that no matter what, they’ll continue to stay on the air as the coronavirus pandemic rages on, even if those broadcasts are from someone’s living room. “That low-tech aesthetic may include fewer camera angles, or robotic cameras, staffers using iPhones and Zoom calls,” Jeremy Barr writes.

WarnerMedia has pledged to give $100 million in relief to workers affected by production shutdowns forced by the coronavirus pandemic, CEO John Stankey said in an internal memo on Friday.

Acting with unity and resolve unseen since the 9/11 attacks, Washington moved urgently to stem an economic free fall caused by widespread restrictions meant to slow the spread of the virus that have shuttered schools, closed businesses and brought American life in many places to a virtual standstill.

Friday afternoon, the FCC released a Public Notice announcing an extension of broadcasters’ deadlines for certain filings in light of the disruptions being caused by the coronavirus epidemic.

National Amusements, ViacomCBS Inc.’s parent company is losing some of its ability to borrow money at a time when its key revenue drivers — movie theaters, new film releases and live-sports broadcasts from the CBS network — have ground to a halt because of the coronavirus. The company has reached a deal with Wells Fargo & Co. to restructure its credit facilities.

Qualified Scripps employees can apply for up to $1,000 for eligible expenses related to hardships caused by COVID-19.

Fifteen days ago, ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy became one of the first series to suspend production as the U.S. and Hollywood were just starting to grasp the scope of the coronavirus health crisis. The decision was made after the medical drama had wrapped production on Episode 21 of its 25-episode 16th season. At the time, the hiatus was going to be for at least two weeks. Now it has been made permanent for Season 16.

The House approved the sweeping measure by a voice vote, as strong majorities of both parties lined up behind the most colossal economic relief bill in the nation’s history.