Tough Act to Follow: Covid-19’s Implications for Media and Entertainment

Diversity in Hollywood: New Oscar Rules, Box-Office Profits Driving Change

Very recently, in a galaxy not at all far away, Hollywood had a gender and racial diversity problem. And many industry groups, including the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, believe it still does.

Leonard, also a voting member of the Academy, was referring to the recent civil unrest associated with protests following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. That unrest gained steam globally as protesters sought justice in other minority deaths associated with police and championed civil rights movements like Black Lives Matter.

'Perfect Storm' Fuels Record Political Ad Spending for TV Stations

Political ad spending on TV stations has soared to new heights during the 2020 election cycle. Now the runoff elections in Georgia, which could determine the balance of power in the U.S. Senate, are going to push that total even higher.

Large programmers expect sequential ad-revenue improvement to continue in Q4

After enduring the brunt of the pandemic's economic and social shutdowns in the previous quarter, large media companies saw their advertising businesses rebound in the September period.

'Perfect Storm' Fuels Record political ad spending for TV stations

With "Tenet" having failed to breathe life back into the U.S. box office and studios delaying future film releases, theater owners remain in critical condition, according to analysts.

Cineworld Must Dig Deep to Survive Closures, Avoid Bankruptcy – Analysts

Regal cinemas owner Cineworld Group PLC may require up to $500 million in additional liquidity to survive its latest round of closures and avoid bankruptcy, according to analysts.

Listen: MediaTalk Episode 16: State of the Video Game Industry Amid COVID-19 – S&P Podcast

As companies and businesses around the globe continue to grapple with financial losses amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the video game sector has remained an outlier.

People sheltering at home due to the pandemic increasingly turned to video games, resulting in revenue spikes for gaming firms and record sales for consoles, speakers said on the latest episode of "MediaTalk," an S&P Global Market Intelligence podcast.

China 2020 Survey Summary: COVID-19 Crisis Accelerated Media and Tech Trends

China was the first country to be hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. The first cases were traced to the city of Wuhan, in Hubei province, in late December 2019, and the disease quickly spread through China as people traveled to their hometowns ahead of the Chinese New Year holidays in January 2020.

China COVID-19 Trends In TV, Video

The CCTV Spring Festival Gala, aired annually for the Lunar New Year holiday, streamed live to almost 170 countries and registered 1.23 billion viewers in 2020, according to gala broadcaster China Media group, up 59 million from 2019.

The holiday in mainland China occurred around the time of the lockdown in Wuhan, and the Spring Festival Gala special saw a new segment added at the last minute to pay tribute to frontline workers in the battle against the pandemic.

Pandemic Sees Europe's Defensive TMT Sector Accessing More, but Cheaper, Debt

Technology, media and telecom companies in Europe are unsurprisingly taking out more debt this year than last, although investor returns from the sector's borrowing remain below the average, according to data from LCD, an offering of S&P Global Market Intelligence.

UK Theater Credit Rating Downgrades Reflect Sustained COVID-19 Hit to Box Office

S&P Global Ratings downgraded U.K.-based cinema operators Cineworld Group PLC and Vue International Bidco PLC and placed the two firms on a negative outlook for the year as box office forecasts were hit by virus fears.Global cinema attendance is not expected to recover to pre-pandemic levels until 2022, partly as a result of public caution regarding out-of-home entertainment venues and Hollywood studios pushing back major film releases, the rating agency said.

Reality TV Engagement Becomes More Real Amid Pandemic Innovation

For reality TV producers, an unreal situation has only made their content more real. Under coronavirus restrictions, producers were faced with a catch-22. On the one hand, viewers were sheltering at home and watching more content than ever.

Cable Networks React to Pandemic by Cutting SG&A, Programming Costs

Programming costs are also being reduced, although this is in large part due to the vast number of productions that have been shut down as TV and film companies look for ways to produce films and TV shows safely.

NBC Sports Wagers Big on Sports Betting with PointsBet Partnership, Investment

NBCUniversal Media LLC's NBC Sports has partnered with PointsBet Holdings Ltd. to help the programmer capitalize on the burgeoning sports betting market.

As part of a five-year deal that makes the Australian-based sports betting operator the official sports betting partner across its properties, NBC Sports has purchased a 4.9% stake in PointsBet. The sports programmer, whose properties include NBCSN (US), Golf Channel (US) and Telemudo Deportes, also has the option to obtain another 25% over the length of the deal.

PointsBet has committed to $393 million in total media spending on NBC Sports outlets, with the outlays escalating over the term of the deal. Many of those dollars will be expressed on regional sports networks, David Preschlack, president of NBC Sports Regional Networks and executive vice president of content strategy at NBC Sports Group, said in an interview.

'Perfect storm' fuels record political ad spending for TV stations

The advertising industry, closely tied to macroeconomic conditions, is going through one of its biggest crises ever.

With TV Advertising Hard-Hit, Video Companies Turn to AVOD for Hope

The second quarter hit advertising hard, leaving ad-supported video-on-demand platforms caught between strong growth in usage and sharp declines in ad budgets.