Citing California public health officials, Governor Gavin Newsom Wednesday night said that gatherings of more than 250 people should be postponed or canceled across the state until at least the end of March. That effectively would ground any Hollywood film and TV premieres, festivals, larger screenings and Emmy campaign events and would temporarily halt the use of live audiences in show tapings, including primetime sitcoms.
The Ellen DeGeneres Show will not be taping in front of a live studio audience, starting on Monday, as yet another television show grapples with how to continue production while the novel coronavirus spreads through the U.S.
Rachael Ray is the latest talk show host to ban studio audiences amid the coronavirus outbreak. An insider told Page Six that Ray, 51, taped her show on Wednesday without an audience before the show takes an already-scheduled break from taping next week.
SYDNEY (AP) — Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson are isolated in stable condition in an Australian hospital Thursday after contracting the new coronavirus, the actor and Australian officials […]
The NBA has suspended games indefinitely after a player on the Utah Jazz tested positive for the coronavirus, the league announced Wednesday night.
Exclusives
Due to concerns over the COVID-19 outbreak, CBS’s The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Late Night with Seth Meyers, and Comedy Central’s The Daily Show with Trevor Noah will all tape without a studio audience beginning Monday, March 16.
The NCAA’s men’s basketball tournament, one of the nation’s most-watched TV sporting events, will be played this year in mostly empty arenas out of concerns for the widening coronavirus pandemic.
With a number of members of the media in America and around the globe already sequestered due to growing coronavirus fears, CBS News today saw two of its team test positive. In a memo sent to staff in the last hour, CBS News President Susan Zirinsky made the announcement and told NYC employees to “work remotely for the next two days while the buildings are cleaned and disinfected.”
TVN Sets Virtual NAB, Working Lunch Webinars
TVNewsCheck introduces Virtual NAB, a web page aggregating news, analysis and opinion related to the now-postponed trade show. In addition, TVN also rolls out Working Lunch, a home for webinars sponsored by thought leaders driving the conversation electronically or announcing new solutions that would have been unveiled in Las Vegas.
The group said: “We are shifting all of our energy and resources to continuing to develop backup programming options that will likely feature some combination of virtual and/or physical events or meetings. We’re also working on FAQs that should address concerns and questions you have.”
EVS Pulls Out Of NAB Show
Despite canceling its physical attendance, EVS is currently working on a plan to introduce its new products and solutions and to remain engaged with the NAB community.
Red Bee Media Withdraws From NAB 2020
“With travel restrictions and other safety measures already in place, we now have to get creative and explore alternative ways of connecting with current and potential customers around the globe.”
Boris FX Withdraws From NAB 2020
New product announcements and featured customer presentations will debut online in April.
Trish Regan says the media is using coronavirus to “destroy” the president while fellow host Tucker Carlson asks Trump to “tell the truth.”
The View, Live With Kelly and Ryan and Tamron Hall have been added to the list of shows that will be taping without a studio audience due to growing concerns about the spread of the coronavirus. “Given the current developing situation in New York City, we have made the decision to suspend live audiences from attending our news broadcasts and talk shows,” a Walt Disney Television spokesperson said this morning.
While reports of exhibitors backing out of the upcoming NAB Show are occurring on an almost daily basis, one major exhibitor says it stays committed to being in Las Vegas next month. Acknowledging the seriousness of the worldwide coronavirus outbreak, Steve Wind-Mozley, CMO of Vizrt Group, said “We will not opt out of the global community we serve, so whilst we respect the difficult decisions some of our industry colleagues have made with regards to show attendance, we choose a different path. We remain focused on supporting our customers to the best of our ability and if that means greeting them on our booth at NAB and it’s safe to do so, we’ll have the coffee on.”
Instead, the German company will introduce new flash-based storage technologies, on-premise AI, remote collaboration and smart workflow automation through a series of events in the Los Angeles area and webinars that will be announced via its website and social media channels.
Due to concerns about the spread of coronavirus. there will be no live audience when former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Bernie Sanders, both vying for the Democratic nomination, face each other Sunday in Phoenix at the request of both candidates’ campaigns. CNN is scheduled to televise the event.
The show typically tapes with an audience of about 300 people at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles. The show expects to resume audience tapings the week of March 23, according to statement announcing the decision Tuesday.
The Wendy Williams Show has joined the list of shows canceling live audience tapings amid the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, the show said Tuesday.
Avid’s new product introductions will take place online in April. Avid and ACA will host regional Connect events after public safety is assured.
CEO Fred Fourcher, said: “As difficult as it was to make this decision, we believe in upholding our corporate promise of providing peace of mind to our community of employees, customers and colleagues. We are taking the stance of being overly sensitive and responsible to their health and well-being.”
Imagine Products Not Going To NAB Show
Marketing Director Michelle Maddox said today: “We will truly miss the opportunity to share our new products and meet new customers and close friends. However, we can not in good faith attend the NAB Show this year. We look forward to sharing many exciting announcements in the next few weeks.”
The top executives overseeing CBS Sports’ and Turner Sports’ annual telecast of the NCAA’s March Madness men’s basketball college championship said today that they were continuing to prepare for the event as if it would not be affected by the spread of coronavirus, though both were ready to shift plans if the NCAA decided doing so would be necessary, potentially resulting in games that are broadcast without audiences in attendance.
CABSAT 2020 has announced that it is postponing its conference by about seven months, moving from its original date of March 31-April 2 to Oct. 26-28. While not specifically mentioning it, the organization makes heavy allusions that the reason for postponement is because of the coronavirus.
Ted Koppel isn’t returning to Nightline, but the programming concept that elevated him and the show to wider renown is making a comeback. Starting this evening, Nightline will devote its entire 30-minute span to coverage of the outbreak of COVID-19, charting its spread around the globe. Dr. Jennifer Ashton, ABC News chief medical correspondent, will answer viewer questions and the program will rely on ABC News correspondents stationed around the world.
The popular gameshows are the latest television project to shift plans due to the new coronavirus. Last week, CBS announced that it was suspending production on The Amazing Race in response to the outbreak.
The International Olympic Committee and local organizers say the games are on, but the clock is ticking. The fate of the Tokyo Games touches 11,000 Olympic and 4,400 Paralympic athletes, coaches and sports officials, local organizers, the Japanese government and national morale, international broadcasters, fans, and world sponsors. Add to this hotels, airlines, and taxi drivers — and even 80,000 unpaid volunteers who will miss a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Quibi has become the latest company to call off a planned gathering amid growing coronavirus fears, with a launch event scheduled for next month canceled “out of an abundance of caution.” A spokesperson said Monday: “While we look forward to launching the Quibi app on April 6, we have decided to cancel our pre-launch event party out of an abundance of caution as we continue to monitor COVID-19. Supporting the health and well-being of everyone involved is our top priority.”
On Monday, the Adobe Blog posted: “Each year, we look forward to seeing our video community at NAB to talk about the latest trends and our product innovations. Over the past few weeks, we have been closely monitoring and evaluating the situation around COVID-19 and have made the difficult but important decision to cancel our presence at the show this year. While we are disappointed, the health and safety of our employees, customers and partners are always our priority. We look forward to engaging with our NAB community through a digital experience in the near future.”
CEO David Ross says the company is “developing contingency plans and will be virtualizing many elements of the show to ensure that our customers still learn about everything new from Ross.”
A+E Networks has become the latest company in the TV business to alter upfront presentation plans because of concerns over coronavirus. Instead of having media buyers attend a live event on March 25, A+E said it will have a series of virtual presentations that will be conducted on an agency–by agency basis.
The most violent drops came from the oil markets, where prices cratered more than 20%. But moves in stocks and bond yields were nearly as breathtaking. In the United States, the S&P 500 plunged 7% in the first few minutes of trading, and losses were so sharp that trading was halted.
PBS has canceled both of its major spring conferences due to concerns over the global outbreak of the coronavirus. PBS TechCon, which focuses on broadcast and digital technologies, was scheduled for April 15–17 in Las Vegas. The Annual Meeting, where PBS presents major programming and engagement initiatives, was to be held in Seattle May 11–13.
Secret labs. Magic cures. Government plots. Despite efforts by social media companies to stop it, false information about the coronavirus is proliferating around the world.
Austin Mayor Steve Adler announced a local disaster as a precaution because of the threat of the coronavirus, effectively cancelling the annual event. The festival drew 73,716 attendees last year, 19,166 of whom came from outside the U.S. Combined with SXSW’s gaming expo and education conference, the 2019 event drew 417,400 attendees, organizers said. An economic impact report found it contributed $355.9 million to the local economy.
