ViacomCBS Launches $100 Million COVID-19 Relief Fund

ViacomCBS on Friday said it will redeem $800 million in senior secured notes that mature in 2021. The studio said it will pay off all of its outstanding 4.30 percent senior notes due on February 15, 2021, and with a redemption date of May 4, 2020, and all of its outstanding 4.5 percent senior notes due March 1, 2021, and to be redeemed by May 18, 2020.

The Sundance Institute has launched a COVID-19 relief fund for indie artists, with a $1 million pot. "This moment calls for a radical shift in strategy in the way we support independent artists in film, media and theater.

By Dave McNary

An advocacy group in Ecuador has created a fund to help LGBTQ people and Venezuelan refugees in the country during the coronavirus pandemic.

A new fund to support Irish musicians through the Covid-19 pandemic has been set up by key music industry bodies.

Like many in the world, Cheryl Saban is hunkering down at home with her husband, music and media entrepreneur Haim Saban, while holding down the fort on two professional fronts. As the president of Saban Family Foundation, she continues to meet virtually with her staff of five, which will be busier in the coming months as vital services are pushed to the brink more than ever due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Canadian broadcaster CBC has launched a Creative Relief Fund for indie content makers amid the COVID-19 crisis, with a $2 million pot. The fund will offer "immediate" development and production financing for producers of original content across all genres.

By Jill Goldsmith

By Brent Lang

The U.K.'s COVID-19 Film and TV Emergency Relief Fund, unveiled last month by the British Film Institute and the Film and TV Charity, has now launched with an initial £2.5 million ($3 million) pot to distribute to industry creatives impacted by the crisis. Announced with a $1.2 million donation from Netflix, the fund has since received financial support from the BFI, BBC Studios, BBC Content, WarnerMedia and several individuals.

First Look Media's Field of Vision and Topic Studios, producer of the Oscar-winning film Spotlight, have launched a $250,000 relief fund offering emergency grants to freelancers in the documentary field severely hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

By Jem Aswad

Elton John has launched a $1 million Coronavirus Emergency Fund for HIV sufferers.

Elton John is coming through big-time for those in the HIV-positive community who have been affected by coronavirus!

"We are with you, we are thinking of you, we will not leave anyone behind."

By Anita Bennett

By Dave McNary

By Dave McNary

By David Robb