Digital

Alphabet Inc.’s Google on Wednesday said any user will soon be able to host free video conferences on Meet, turning its previously business-only tool into a bigger rival to Zoom and others battling for users during the coronavirus outbreak.

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences on Tuesday announced the change for the 93rd Academy Awards as a response to how the coronavirus pandemic has impacted the film industry. The film academy also said it will condense the two sound categories into one and prohibit DVD screeners for 2022’s 94th Oscars in an effort to become more carbon neutral.

Jennifer Mitchell, from ABC Owned Television Stations, leads original nonlinear content production, while Daniel Alvarez, from NBCU Owned Television Stations, leads bilingual content initiatives.

Tweets about television are up in nearly every category from March 1 through April 15 compared with the same time last year, largely driven by the coronavirus pandemic, Nielsen found in a study, but one category stands out as a glaring exception: sports.

YouTube brought in $4.04 billion during the first quarter, marking an increase of 33% from the 1Q 2019, according to parent company Alphabet, which reported its first quarter earnings on Tuesday afternoon. Overall, YouTube accounted for nearly 10% of Alphabet’s $41.16 billion in 1Q sales. (Alphabet is also the parent company of Google.) YouTube’s $4.04 billion in 1Q sales falls a bit short of where it was at during the last quarter of 2019, when it reported $4.72 billion in revenue.

As the wireless business heads into the perilously capex-intensive 5G future, though, it’s actually the so-called New T-Mobile, fresh off its $30 billion purchase of Sprint, that might have the inside track to the video business.

As broadcasters take stock of a changed world, their transition from hardware to software and ultimately the cloud has grown more urgent. For TAG Video Systems, the road to partnership boils down to a Zero Friction approach to technology, software licensing and even doing business. “For our content partners,” said TAG CEO Abe Zerbib, “it’s a big game changer.”

COVID-19 has triggered an explosion of innovation among local station groups. Stations are also experimenting with content and creating new programs that could point the way to a more flexible and less formulaic approach to storytelling down the road, even when the worst of the crisis has passed. One impressive example: Field Notes, a new magazine show on Facebook Watch and other digital platforms produced by Hearst Television and based on the virus-related reporting of its local stations in all 26 of its markets.

Websites using .org domain names fear they could lose their web addresses as intense backlash over the domain registry’s proposed sale continues. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, the not-for-profit organization that coordinates the internet’s domain name system, is deciding whether control of .org will be sold to a private equity firm about which little is known.

Google plans to soon require all advertisers to provide proof of their identities as well as the countries where they do business, in hopes of providing consumers with more insight into online advertising.

The rough-and-ready video quality of journalism during the coronavirus crisis is changing the way we engage with the media.

Snap announced Thursday that it is planning to raise up to $750 million through a private debt offering. CEO Evan Spiegel says that the “proceeds from this offering will further bolster our balance sheet which will allow Snap the flexibility to continue to invest in the long-term growth of our business, even if challenging conditions continue.”

Another top executive at Quibi has left the fledgling streamer: Megan Imbres, head of brand and content marketing, is leaving the company after a year in the role. Imbres, whose exit comes two weeks after Quibi’s April 6 launch, oversaw creative development for all of the short-form streaming service’s brand and content marketing executions, including its Super Bowl LIV ad.

Episodes of unscripted juggernaut The Masked Singer will stream on Tubi, Fox Corp.’s free, ad-supported service, the companies have announced. Tubi, whose acquisition by Fox closed Monday, will add the first two seasons of the competition series to its platform starting Thursday night.

Comcast Corp’s NBCUniversal said today it aims to help retailers that have been forced to shut down amid the pandemic through new ecommerce tools that will let people buy products directly from NBC’s content. The launch of the tools, called NBCUniversal Checkout, comes as many brands have reduced advertising spending while the coronavirus batters the economy.

Sinclair’s streaming STIRR service added a coronavirus channel last month, stitching together daily press conferences on the pandemic from around the country. That content will evolve as the pandemic continues, STIRR’s GM says.