Netflix Consumption Surges 115 Percent in Southeast Asia Amid Virus Lockdowns

Entertainment companies this earnings season have spent much time discussing the novel coronavirus pandemic's impact on TV advertising revenue, film units and theme parks divisions. But audio entertainment trends have surprised Wall Street on the upside, providing a bright spot amid the virus crisis.

As the novel coronavirus pandemic keeps upending the entertainment industry, with cost-cutting measures enacted and business models retooled, WME said Thursday it will lay off or furlough 20 percent of its workforce. “WME is reducing its workforce by approximately 20% as a result of COVID-19’s impact on our business.

Media mogul Rupert Murdoch will give up 100 percent of his cash bonus in the current fiscal year at News Corp., the parent company of The Wall Street Journal, New York Post, News U.K. and Australian pay-TV firm Foxtel, of which he is executive chairman, while News Corp.

European movie theater giant Vue International has made a bold plea to its landlords in a bid to survive the novel coronavirus crisis. In a letter sent earlier this month and seen by The Hollywood Reporter, the multiplex chain — which operates almost 2,000 screens across 10 countries, including the U.K., Germany, Italy, Denmark and Taiwan — asked for a "complete waiver of all rent and service charge," which would have been due for the period of closure.

AT&T-owned WarnerMedia's HBO Asia has wrapped production and is readying the release of Antarctic survival thriller series The Head. The show, produced in association with Hulu Japan and Spanish production house The Mediapro Studio, will premiere on HBO and HBO Go in the Asia-Pacific region on June 12, WarnerMedia said Thursday.

No sector of the film and television industry will be left unscathed by the coronavirus pandemic. The COVID-19 outbreak has shut down cinemas, canceled shoots and forced festivals online.

People watching more entertainment programming while sheltering at home propelled Netflix to a strong first three months of 2020, the company announced Tuesday The streaming giant added 15.8 million subscribers during the first quarter of the year, a period of record growth that has rocketed its global base to nearly 183 million.

As President Donald Trump has been holding daily press briefings to provide updates on the COVID-19 pandemic, Piers Morgan is speaking out against his "friend," criticizing how he's been handling leading the nation amid the virus crisis. Speaking on Sunday morning to Brian Stelter on CNN's Reliable Sources, the British talk show host admitted that he's been watching Trump's daily briefings with "mounting horror." "I've known him a long time.

As Americans ordered to self-quarantine increasingly go online for TV fixes, MoffettNathanson analyst Michael Nathanson on Friday touted Netflix as the leader in Hollywood's streaming wars over peers Amazon Prime, YouTube, Hulu and Disney+. "The world is trapped indoors, live sports on TV is non-existent, theaters are closed, unemployment is spiking to terrible levels, and new content is impossible to produce.

Germany's 2020 summer of rock is no more. New coronavirus restrictions mean every music festival on the German summer circuit, from giant events like Rock am Ring and the Wacken heavy metal fest to electronic dance music festival Parookaville have been called off for this year.

Germany's 2020 summer of rock is no more.

The WWE says that it is taking significant steps to reduce costs amid the coronavirus pandemic. While the company resumed its live wrestling matches this week on USA and Fox, like most media companies it is expecting the pandemic to impact its financial outlook.

President Donald Trump said Tuesday he’s open to some states “reopening” before federal social distancing guidelines expire at the end of the month, as he appeared to back off his claim of absolute authority to decide when the time was right to act.

Pay TV giant Dish Network has decided to cut an undisclosed amount of jobs and evaluate its business strategy amid the novel coronavirus pandemic. The company had 16,000 employees as of the end of 2019 and didn't say how many of them were affected by the job cuts.

Amid an unprecedented crisis, Bob Iger's hopes of finally stepping away from the Walt Disney Co. were all but totally dashed.

Children are no longer allowed on playground equipment in East Ayrshire because of coronavirus dangers.

Australian pay TV giant leader Foxtel, which is majority-owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, has laid off 200 employees and put 140 additional staffers on leave until June amid the new coronavirus pandemic. The company's sports unit, which has been lacking fresh content amid the novel coronavirus' spread that has led to sports events being postponed or canceled, was hardest hit.

"This is an opportunity that’s born from chaos." So says Ben Kusin, co-founder and co-CEO of VENN, a new network focused on the video game and streaming industries and cultures, of his newly-formed company's decision to move up its launch from this fall to July amid the coronavirus pandemic."VENN is the nexus of gaming and media and, while most industries have stagnated, these two have taken off," he tells The Hollywood Reporter.

China's television networks and streaming platforms benefited from an explosion of viewers after the world's most populous nation began practicing social distancing in late January to contain the new coronavirus, says a new report published Thursday by Beijing-based ticketing company Maoyan. The surging television and streaming consumption came amid reduced filmgoing, according to Maoyan.