- Before reading any more news, take some time to breathe (New York Times)
- Amazon is suspending all non-essential shipments to its warehouse to deal with the COVID-19 crisis (Business Insider)
- As the spotlight shines on AVOD, Fox acquires Tubi for US$440 million (Digital TV Europe)
- Here’s a bright spot for your day: Teens are making great TikTok content while in isolation (Vox)
- The COVID-19 guide has been updated with more things the industry is doing for kids (Kidscreen)
- Annecy will put its program announcements on pause until April, and other COVID-19 industry updates (Kidscreen)
- It’s not just digital views on the rise. If a lot of countries lock down, linear viewership could also increase (Digital TV Europe)
- How are studios and unions grappling with halted productions? (Variety)
- TikTok, can you get it together? The app reportedly had guidelines not to promote “ugly” and “poor” users (The Intercept)
- Can the internet handle it now that we’re all working from home? (New York Times)
- Look, we know things are bad…but can Hollywood really take a US$20-billion hit from COVID-19? (The Hollywood Reporter)
- Disney+ is expanding its coverage in Europe via a new partnership with O2, and Frozen 2 is available three months early (Digital TV Europe)
- SXSW is reviving its film competition digitally after the festival got cancelled (Collider)
- In its ongoing efforts to gain back public trust, TikTok is going to stop using Chinese moderators for most content (Wall Street Journal)
- Ready for some more COVID-19 news? Several more movies, including Mulan, have been delayed (BBC News)
- From NBCUniversal to Amazon to Netflix—entertainment companies are telling their employees to work from home (Variety)
- When an event gets cancelled, what happens to the little guys for whom it could have been a big break? (Vanity Fair)
- …And on to other news: AR-startup Magic Leap is reportedly exploring a sale for US$10 billion (Bloomberg)
- Should parents and teachers rethink the ways they praise kids? (The Walrus)
- A lot is changing and quite rapidly, so if you’re wondering what’s been canceled—check out this list (Isitcanceledyet)
- At the annual shareholders meeting yesterday, Bob Iger said Disney is sobered by COVID-19 (Los Angeles Times)
- Moving on from the virus, frequent moviegoing slipped in 2019 (The Hollywood Reporter)
- A new Google Chrome extension is trying to help color-blind people see the online world better (The Verge)
- Events cancelled or postponed, and business grinding to a halt: Coronavirus exposes the cracks in Hollywood (Variety)
- Why did that Bob Iger announcement feel so abrupt? (The Hollywood Reporter)
- NBCUniversal is getting out of the Snapchat business, selling off its US$500-million stake (Tubefilter)
- TikTok is trying to assuage people’s privacy fears by opening a US “transparency center” (Engadget)
- Count von Count is imparting wisdom to the US census as Sesame helps with undercounted children (NPR)
- What makes an original project a good fit for Disney+, and why some haven’t been “family-friendly” enough (Variety)
- …Meanwhile, Bob Iger’s next priority is to focus on “getting everything right creatively” at the new streamer (The Hollywood Reporter)
- Here are 10 education companies you should definitely be aware of (Fast Company)
- Reddit is upping its ad efforts with a new product set to take on Twitter (Tech Crunch)
- Quibi has been accused of patent infringement, less than a month before its launch (Engadget)
- Onward is leading the box office, but it’s a pretty quiet win (Variety)
- Short-form streamer Quibi is planning to woo new viewers with a 90-day free trial (The Verge)
- LatAm’s recession is starting to have a big impact on pay TV (Digital TV Europe)
- Where will it end? After SXSW was cancelled, a number of other festivals and events are set to follow suit (CBC News)
- Kids content on YouTube faces a new threat: A US bill is proposing a complete overhaul (The Verge)
- Roku is reportedly in talks to get into original programming (Digiday)
- Silicon Valley investment firm Sequoia has some advice on how businesses can make it through coronavirus (Medium)
- …And while the illness continues to affect industry events, SXSW hasn’t been cancelled (Variety)
- Why are location trackers so big for kids right now? (The New York Times)
- Hunt for the Oompa Loompas: Taika Waititi is writing and directing two Charlie and the Chocolate Factory shows for Netflix (The Wrap)
- The industry is adapting to the MIPTV cancellation, with some still headed to Cannes (TBI)
- …And depending on how much longer this goes on, the virus could weigh heavily on the toy industry (The New York Times)
- Pop TV appears to be a bit of collateral damage in the ViacomCBS merger as it drops three original commissions (Variety)
- Voice activation is the talk of the town, and now Spotify is joining the conversation (Engadget)
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