Videoage International October 2020

20 October 2020 V I D E O A G E What Happened healthcare and other essential workers each night, the quietude engulfed the world again. But inside the four walls of executives’ home offices, the Zoom chit-chats often turned into serious exchanges that affected the television industry the world over at all levels. These conversations and consequent actions shook the worlds of broadcasting, production, advertising, content distribution, trade shows, trade publications, awards shows, and corporate structures. The consequences were felt throughout the month of August, with ramifications that will extend well into the next year. Below is a selection, in chronological order, of some of the major announcements and events as reported in VideoAge ’s daily online newsletter, the E-Beat. The months of March and May recorded the largest number of activities reported with 25 percent and 22 percent of the cases listed, respectively. With 10 percent of reported activities, April was the quietest month. February 13: FilMart was postponed from March 25-28 to August 27-29, and on June 18, it was turned into a virtual market. March 1: The French government banned indoor gatherings of more than 5,000 people. March 2: Production was shut down in Hollywood for fear of COVID contagion. March 4: MIP-TV , scheduled for March 30-April 2, was canceled and replaced by a virtual market. March 9: The Upfronts , set for May 11-14, were canceled. On May 5, the U.S. TV broadcast networks set new dates for their virtual Upfronts. March 11: Series Mania canceled its live event, scheduled for March 25-27. On March 19, it pivoted to a virtual event that was held March 25-April 7. March 11: NAB announced a postponement of its NAB Las Vegas set for April 18-22. On March 20, the live show was canceled, replaced with a virtual show. March 12: The U.S. studios canceled the L.A. Screenings. March 13: Live sports shut down worldwide. March 17: VideoAge published its April Issue (print and digital). It was the only international TV trade publication to do so. March 18: Cannes Lions was postponed to October 26-30 from June 22-26. On April 3, it was virtual event that took place on June 15-19. May 11: NBCUni streamed a one-hour video presentation about its new series on the date initially set for its L.A. Screenings. May 15: Angelo Teodoli became president of Rome, Italy-based, RaiCom. May 16: VideoAge published its L.A. Studio Issue (print and digital). May 18: IBC , which was scheduled for Sept. 11- 14, was canceled. May 19: Rebecca Campbell was named chairman of Direct-to-Consumer & International at The Walt Disney Company. May 20: Armando Nuñez left CBS Global Distribution after it was renamed ViacomCBS, passing the baton to Dan Cohen. May 20: ViacomCBS Global Distribution hosted its L.A. Screenings virtual event. May 20: Indian TV channel Zee One closed in Germany. May 22: ViacomCBS International Studios held its L.A. Screenings virtual event. May 25: Sony Pictures Television hosted its own L.A. Screenings virtual event. June 2: Greg Phillips started Rainmaker Content, a new distribution company in London. June 4: Pathe feature Eiffel restarted filming in Paris, France. June 9: Michael Goldman died in Los Angeles at age 81. He was one of the founders of the American Film Market, and the president of Manson Film Company. June 15: Joel Denton was appointed acting president of Red Arrow in London. June 16: Ananey Studios resumed production in Israel. June 17: U.S. daytime soap The Bold and The Beautiful restarted production at Television City Studios in Los Angeles. June 21: U.S. President Donald Trump got ticked off by TikTok . June 22: Eleonora Andreatta left RAI Fiction and joined Netflix in Italy. June 25: Alex Marin left Sony Pictures Television and started his own Miami, Florida- based content distribution company, Media Advisors. canceled. Then, on April 20, it was switched to an all-virtual event. It took place on its original date. March 19: The Cannes Film Festival , scheduled for May 12-23, was postponed to June 23-July 4. On April 13, the June/July dates were scrapped. Then, on April 24, it was turned into an online event, keeping the June/July dates. March 19: It was announced that the Daytime Emmys would be postponed from June 12. On April 29, it was announced that it would be a virtual event held on June 26. March 20: Europe limited bandwidth consumption . March 24: The Tokyo 2020 Olympics were postponed to 2021. March 27: Sony Pictures Television announced plans for a virtual L.A. Screenings. No official date was set. March 27: ProSiebenSat1 CEO Max Conze left the German media company. March 30: DISCOP Joburg , scheduled for July 29-31, was canceled. April 1: Jason Kilar was appointed CEO of WarnerMedia. April 7: NATPE Budapest was postponed to August 25-27 from June 30-July 3. On July 10, it was declared an online-only event. April 7: Pluto TV became available in 17 LATAM countries. April 9: Starz promoted Alison Hoffman to president, Domestic Networks. April 17: DISCOP announced two virtual markets in Africa. April 21: Tetsu Uemura , executive principal of Tohokushinsha Film Corporation, passed away in Tokyo, Japan at age 58. April 23: Cathy Payne became CEO of Banijay Rights. May 4: Starz tapped Christina Davis as president of Original Programming. May 5: ABS-CBN closed down its radio and TV stations following orders from the Philippine government. May 6: TV France International turned its Le Rendez-Vous Biarritz into a virtual event set for Sept. 7-9. May 7: Licensing Expo , originally scheduled for May 19-21, was canceled. Later, it became a (Continued from Cover) (Continued on Page 22) Jeff Schlesinger exited WB TV Worldwide Distribution on August 10