Top News:
Jason Gurwin / The Streamable:
Universal Pictures to make digital rentals of some new movies now in theaters available for $20 from March 20, and upcoming Trolls World Tour on its release day — In light of the movie theaters being brought to a standstill, Universal Pictures is changing the game.
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Rebecca Rubin / Variety:
North American box office plunged to around $55.3M this weekend, its worst weekend since sales of $54.5M from September 15 to 17 in 2000 — Much of public life in the United States essentially ground to a halt this week. In the entertainment world, theme parks shut down, Broadway went dark …
Discussion:
Hollywood Reporter, The Wrap, Hollywood Reporter, /Film, Fortune, Wired, @ecareyo, Vanity Fair, @variety, @ecnalhanid, The Playlist, @ewagmeister, CNN, The Guardian, MediaPost and KRON4
Hollywood Reporter:
Regal Cinemas, the second-largest movie chain in the US, will close all theaters starting March 17 and will remain closed until further notice — The move follows a federal government recommendation for U.S. adults to avoid public gatherings of more than 10 people.
Rachel Abrams / New York Times:
Inside The Seattle Times' COVID-19 coverage, as nearly all of its 58 reporters cover a pandemic affecting their neighbors and friends while trying to stay safe — “That's what local papers are meant to do”: The journalists at The Seattle Times have been aggressively covering the coronavirus as it affects their neighbors and friends.
YouTube Creator Blog:
YouTube says it will be relying more on automated systems as content moderators stay home, and creators may see fewer strikes against videos but more removals — Today, as the unprecedented COVID-19 situation continues, Google outlined how it's reducing the need for people to come …
Discussion:
The Keyword, TechCrunch, Business Insider, Variety, @ytcreators, 9to5Google, Engadget, @youtubeinsider, Marketing Land and The Verge, more at Techmeme »
The Intercept:
Leaked docs: TikTok told moderators to suppress posts from those deemed “ugly”, poor, or disabled, and censor political speech in livestreams, to attract users — The makers of TikTok, the Chinese video-sharing app with hundreds of millions of users around the world …
Discussion:
@panzer, Business Insider, Gizmodo, @caseyjohnston, @josephfcox, @theintercept, @taylorlorenz, @cindygallop, @rose_catb, @mattpostsayshi, The Verge, @slooterman and PAPER, more at Techmeme »
Pete Brown / Columbia Journalism Review:
Study of 13K+ stories on News Corp's Knewz between February 4 and March 2 shows that the news aggregator frequently defaults to Murdoch titles and Daily Mail — Knewz, News Corp.'s recently launched news aggregator—not to be confused with the polka band of the same name—debuted with a grand promise …
Manori Ravindran / Variety:
Disney Plus has partnered with O2 as its exclusive UK mobile network distributor, a week ahead of its launch — Disney Plus has linked with O2 as its exclusive U.K. mobile network distributor, a week ahead of its highly anticipated launch. — New and upgrading monthly customers to O2 …
Discussion:
The Streamable
Elsa Keslassy / Variety:
French pay TV group Canal Plus says it will be free for the next few weeks or months during the country's lockdown due to the coronavirus outbreak — French pay TV group Canal Plus will be free for the next few weeks or months during the country's lockdown due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
By lashing out at PBS's Yamiche Alcindor over questions about firing the Pandemic Response Team, Trump keeps trying to duck scrutiny for his own words and deeds — It's bad enough that President Trump has relentlessly minimized the coronavirus threat for nakedly political reasons …
Discussion:
@theplumlinegs, @theplumlinegs and The Independent, more at Techmeme »
Javier C. Hernández / New York Times:
Chinese journalists, usually muzzled, are publicly pushing back against the government's positive coronavirus spin, buoyed by widespread calls for free speech — The Communist Party is trying to fill the airwaves with positive stories about its battle against the virus.
Discussion:
@ajenglish, @hernandezjavier, @hernandezjavier, @hernandezjavier, @hernandezjavier, @hernandezjavier, @ewong and Fox News
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
AMC Networks says it is planning to sell ad packages that accompany its shows even when they become available on ad-supported streaming outlets like Pluto TV — AMC Networks wants to sell the ads that accompany “Walking Dead” on its flagship cable outlet and wherever the series' zombies might march.
Discussion:
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