Mediagazer: The Olympics postponement means hundreds of hours of lost programming and lost revenue for NBCU, which had sold 90%+ of its ad inventory, valued at $1.25B+ (Patrick Frater/Variety)

4:20 PM ET, March 24, 2020

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Patrick Frater / Variety:

The Olympics postponement means hundreds of hours of lost programming and lost revenue for NBCU, which had sold 90%+ of its ad inventory, valued at $1.25B+ — The Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo will be postponed for a year, until 2021, Japan's Prime Minister Abe Shinzo announced Tuesday.

Discussion: USA Today, CNN, International Olympic …, @frankpallotta, The Wrap, Axios, Broadcasting & Cable, Bloomberg, Forbes, Business Insider, @tvmojoe, Adweek, @tiffkhsu, Axios and @zeitchikwapo

Craig Silverman / BuzzFeed News:

The coronavirus pandemic is shaping to be much worse for news media than the 2008 financial crisis, which saw a 19% decline in newspaper revenue in the US — The journalists at BuzzFeed News are proud to bring you trustworthy and relevant reporting about the coronavirus.

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Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:

YouTube will change the default video resolution to standard definition worldwide for a month starting today to ease internet traffic — - Videos will default to standard definition worldwide — YouTube, Netflix already reduced video quality in Europe

Discussion: Variety, Fast Company, Android Central, Business Insider, The Verge and 9to5Google, more at Techmeme »

The New York Times Company:

NYT, WSJ, WaPo publishers call on China to reverse its expulsion of their journalists: “the media is collateral damage in a diplomatic dispute” — The Chinese government's decision to expel American journalists amid a global pandemic threatens the world's access to critical information …

Discussion: New York Times, The Hill, Fox News, @austinramzy, @kenroth, @raju, The Guardian, @voanews and Reuters

Brian Steinberg / Variety:

ABC, known for drama, is placing a heavier focus on news as broadcast networks see viewers of most-watched cable news anchors rise ~25% over past two weeks — ABC, best known for soapy programs like “Grey's Anatomy” and “Station 19,” has in recent days been more focused on the drama of real life.

Discussion: New York Times, Axios and @bristei

Instagram:

Instagram to remove some coronavirus-related content and accounts from recommendations and Explore, with exceptions for credible health organizations — People who search for information related to the coronavirus or COVID-19 on Instagram will start to see an educational message connecting …

Discussion: TechCrunch, New York Times, XDA Developers, Business Insider, Reuters, MIT Technology Review, CNET, Android Central and Jezebel, more at Techmeme »

Vijaya Gadde / Twitter:

Twitter is donating $500K each to the Committee to Protect Journalists and the International Women's Media Foundation — All around the world, we've seen our service connecting people with the authoritative health information they need to protect themselves and their loved ones.

Discussion: VentureBeat, TechCrunch, Committee to Protect …, Axios, The Hill and @twitterforgood

Freddy Mayhew / Press Gazette:

UK's Newsquest, with ~200 newspapers and magazines, is furloughing a “significant number” of staff, who will get 80% of their salaries; others get pay cuts — Newsquest is placing a “significant number” of its staff on furlough while all those who remain will face a wage cut in action to …

Discussion: @markdistef, @markdistef, @markdistef, @chrisburn_post and @markdistef

Ted Johnson / Deadline:

WHCA says a member of the press corps has a suspected case of coronavirus and reduces briefing room to a pool of 14 reporters — The White House Correspondents' Association said that a member of the press corps has a suspected case of the coronavirus and is advising journalists and others …

Discussion: Reuters and NPR

Laura Baldwin / O'Reilly Media:

O'Reilly Media announces it is canceling all of its upcoming in-person conferences and permanently shutting down that portion of its business — It has been a rough few weeks as we've seen the COVID-19 virus take a toll on our livelihoods, our families and the world economy.

Discussion: @lauraabaldwin and @lauraabaldwin, more at Techmeme »

Ted Johnson / Deadline:

Fox News will hold a two-hour virtual town hall today with Trump and members of the coronavirus task force; there will be no White House briefing today — President Donald Trump and members of his coronavirus task force will headline a two-hour “virtual” Fox News town hall on Tuesday afternoon.

Discussion: The Hill, Fox News, @tvietor08, @morningmika and @miriamelder

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