- WarnerMedia laid off roughly 600 staffers yesterday, but hasn’t confirmed whether the kids teams were affected (Variety)
- It turns out not that many people want to go to Disney World during a pandemic (The Washington Post)
- Entertainment guilds warn employees against signing COVID-19 liability waivers when they return to work (The Hollywood Reporter)
- Despite the failure of its previous big-budget gaming efforts, Amazon is giving it another go (The New York Times)
- Netflix kids exec Ed Horasz has revealed the streamer spent US$79 million on originals in Australia and New Zealand (Sydney Morning Herald)
- WarnerMedia’s chief says all of the staff shuffles are to “streamline” decision-making (The Hollywood Reporter)
- It’s not just Microsoft anymore, new bidders are emerging to save TikTok in the US (Tech Crunch)
- …But should Netflix be one of those bidders? (CNBC)
- Hulu is getting ready to roll out Spielberg’s Animaniacs reboot (Variety)
- Theater chain AMC is learning to embrace the streaming era, rather than run from it (Variety)
- Roughly one in five children are highly sensitive—what do they need to thrive? (New York Times)
- The TikTok ban is forcing some uncomfortable questions in the US (The Verge)
- After months of fighting, Facebook Gaming is finally in the Apple App Store (Business Insider)
- ViacomCBS will launch a new global streamer with Nickelodeon content in early 2021 (Variety)
- …And unsurprisingly, the mediaco had a good Q2 for streaming, but a bad quarter for linear (Deadline)
- The other big winner from this quarter is Nintendo, after users flocked to Animal Crossing in lockdown (The Verge)
- Why are some children more into TV than others? (Science Daily)
- Quibi is launching in Australia and New Zealand with a free ad-supported tier (TBI Vision)
- Discovery’s upcoming SVOD will be more like an “SUV” to Netflix’s “sports car” model (Deadline)
- NBCUniversal is prepping for significant layoffs, and an investigation into its chairman (Variety)
- Sales for bouncy castles are way up as families seek a different kind of escape (Vanity Fair)
- Cinema chains Cinemark and Regal aren’t happy about shortening theatrical windows (CNBC)
- ViacomCBS is launching a new ad platform that will let marketers buy ads for all its networks (The Hollywood Reporter)
- Microsoft is launching a Netflix-style gaming service (CNBC)
- …And how does TikTok, an app that caters to dancing teens, fit with Microsoft’s business strategy? (The Verge)
- SAG-AFTRA and producers have reached a new three-year contract for animated projects, which will see more animation made for SVODs (Deadline)
- Sony’s profits increased 53% throughout the pandemic, with video games playing a major role in the growth (Variety)
- Tech earnings wrap-up: Apple, Facebook, YouTube and Amazon all had crazy-good Q2s (Tech Crunch)
- TikTok’s CEO says its planned US$200-million creator fund will grow to US$1 billion in three years (Tubefilter)
- Seemingly run by a bunch of theater kids all grown up, Disney+ is now adapting a Broadway musical (The Hollywood Reporter)
- With return-to-school plans in flux, parents are growing increasingly worried their kids will fall behind (The New York Times)
- On first blush, Peacock appears to be doing OK—the SVOD has added 10 million subscribers since its April launch (The Verge)
- Netflix VP of content acquisition Bela Bajaria gives a peek at the streamer’s plan to become a global TV giant (Variety)
- Pixar has laid out the details of its upcoming film Luca, which looks quite European in style (Polygon)
- The Emmys—like everything else this year—are going virtual (Deadline)
- AMC and Universal make nice, striking a deal that will shrink the traditional theatrical window (Vanity Fair)
- …But will 2020 usher in the end of the domestic box office? (Vulture)
- Family-skewing series The Mandalorian and Stranger Things picked up quite a few Emmy nominations (Variety)
- …And not all hope is lost for Quibi, which netted 10 noms of its own (The Hollywood Reporter)
- French broadcasters M6 and TF1 are both feeling the COVID-19 sting as revenues fall (Digital TV Europe)
- The cancellations keep coming—CES is moving its January 2021 event online (Kidscreen)
- ITV Studios and Fremantle join BBC in skipping MIPCOM this year (TBI Vision)
- One style fits all: PopSugar and Old Navy partner on a new gender-inclusive clothing line for tweens (Tubefilter)
- Asia’s box office, usually the most lucrative in the world, is down 92% this year as a result of COVID-19 (Variety)
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