NBCUniversal Chief ‘Pretty Confident’ Tokyo Summer Olympics Will Happen This Year

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefMori Yoshiro has resigned as head of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics Organizing Committee, after being unable to face down criticism of his sexist remarks.

Elaine Low Senior TV WriterFor viewers wondering when they can immerse themselves in a soothing loop of shiplap, farm-to-table food and rosy-cheeked gardeners harvesting flowers in the country, Chip and Joanna Gaines’ joint venture with Discovery, Magnolia Network, has finally gotten a new launch date after delaying an October start.

Simone Biles will be featured in the latest installment of the Emmy-winning Facebook Watch Versus series, Simone vs. Herself, which will chronicle the superstar gymnast’s journey as she prepares for the Tokyo Olympics.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorSimone Biles, superstar gymnast and Olympic champion, will be the subject of a new Facebook Watch original series following her as she gets ready to compete in the postponed Tokyo Olympic Games — expected to be her last run at a medal.“Simone vs Herself” is slated to premiere this summer, timed for the Tokyo Olympics (currently scheduled for July 23-Aug. 8, 2021).

For the first time ever, NBC will air a live morning broadcast of an Olympic opening ceremony. The four-hour Tokyo Opening Ceremony on July 23 will kick off a full day of Olympic programming on NBC.  It will be followed by a special edition of Today with reaction and athlete interviews, and then NBC’s first-ever Olympic Daytime show on the opening Friday of the Games at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorThe Opening Ceremonies of the Summer Olympics have long been something reserved for primetime TV — a glitzy event that draws big crowds with spectacle and flash.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorFacebook and Google do it. Now NBCUniversal wants to join them.The Comcast-controlled media conglomerate intends to launch “One21,” an annual gathering it hopes will bring insights from top advertisers who are working to use new technologies to get their messages in front of increasingly resistant consumers.

Leo Barraclough Senior International CorrespondentThe European Film Market, which is being staged as a virtual event from March 1-5, is to arrange screenings of films selected as part of the Berlin Film Festival lineup in movie theaters in four cities around the world.The initiative, running under the banner “EFM Goes Global,” will see physical screenings for distributors in Tokyo for the Asian market, Melbourne for Oceania, São Paulo for South America, and Mexico City for Central America.

Sony Pictures Entertainment recorded a $212M profit in the third quarter of Fiscal Year 2020, good for a 316% upward swing versus the similar period in 2019. The profit increase for the three months ended December 31, 2020 was due to lower theatrical marketing costs and higher TV licensing and home entertainment sales from prior year titles, Sony Corp said in announcing results from Tokyo today.

Cable giant Comcast's earnings conference call on Thursday covered various topics of interest to industry insiders and Wall Street analysts, but also at least one that casual sports fans will be keen on: the fate of the planned Tokyo Olympics.

Comcast CEO Brian Roberts and NBCUniversal chief Jeff Shell are upbeat the Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo will go forward as planned and said advertisers are optimistic as well, based on what they’re seeing.

The Tokyo Olympics, set to begin July 23, are six months away. But with COVID-19 cases surging in Japan and around the world and vaccine supplies falling short, the Olympic torch is in danger of going unlit.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons is set to receive a series of Hello Kitty influenced items, via a partnership with US retailer Target.The collaboration, in the form of Amiibo Cards, was previously released in Europe and Japan, and is now coming to the US on the March 26.Nintendo of America tweeted the announcement on January 26, confirming the pack will be able to be used with Animal Crossing: New Horizons.The Animal Crossing Sanrio Collaboration Pack comes to the US for the first time on 3/26,

Better times. Ahead of her split from Ben Affleck, Ana De Armas shared details about the former couple’s trip to her hometown of Havana, Cuba.

Ana de Armas brought Ben Affleck to visit her hometown in Havana, Cuba, and he came back with some souvenirs! Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, Ben was spotted wearing t-shirts from Cuba on more than one occasion, and in a new interview with The Sunday Times, Ana admitted that he was “obsessed” with the tees. “Every time we go, he buys the whole store,” she joked in the interview, which was conducted before the pair split earlier this month.