Just a couple of months ago, there were articles suggesting that the streaming service may have tapped out its pool of potential customers. But, as with most things on Earth, everything changed in March, and Netflix ended up getting nearly 15.8 million new subscribers in the first quarter of 2020, a record. – Vulture
Category: AUDIENCE
NPR Audience Soars, Underwriting Stalls, And Execs Take Pay Cuts
People are consuming more news than usual. Monthly readership of NPR’s website has more than doubled and average weekly streaming of its radio shows has gone up 31 percent since the crisis began. Podcast downloads have also increased. – The New York Times
No Matter What The Governor Says, Most Movie Theaters In Georgia Won’t Be Reopening Next Week
Gov. Brian Kemp has said that cinemas in the Peach State may begin welcoming customers again beginning April 27. People actually in the business of showing movies say there’s no way things can ramp up that fast: there are issues of reassembling furloughed staff, actually getting films to show, developing and maintaining safety and distancing protocols, and liability if customers start getting sick. – Variety
Uffizi Prepares For Onslaught Of Crowds
Museum director Eike Schmidt recalled that after the Arno River in Florence flooded in 1966 and shuttered the museum, the number of visitors to the Uffizi jumped from 1 million to 1.5 million in 1968. – Washington Post (AP)
Live Nation – That Is, Ticketmaster – Is Reconsidering The Policy That Had Everyone Furious
In other words, they weren’t going to issue refunds – but the “everyone” who was furious started to include lawmakers, things changed (to be clear, the company claims the change had been in the work for weeks before a request to the New York attorney general to look into Live Nation’s business practices). Suddenly, refunds will be available for canceled shows, and exchanges for rescheduled shows. – The New York Times
Survey Says: People Will Be Reluctant To Return To Theatres
One major takeaway: Most theatregoers will not immediately be ready to return to theatres even when they reopen. The survey found that around half (49 percent) of those questioned say they will likely wait a few months before returning. Only 25 percent think they would attend right away. – American Theatre
How To Reopen Museums – Quickly And Safely
Andras Szanto: “Museums could offer people who have experienced weeks of isolation a safe place to go, or a reprieve from cramped quarters. Their opening would signal the beginnings of a return to normalcy. What’s more, once the public is back, museums can serve as hubs of education, information-sharing, and collective reflection as we work together to surmount this crisis.” – Artnet
Amazon Self-Publishing Promised To Democratize Publishing. Instead…
It has become a cesspool for scammers and con artists and crackpots of every kind. Worse, it even helps promote racist supremacist views. What can be done? – ProPublica
Tom Hanks, In His Kitchen, With A Camera, Defines The Spirit Of The Time
It seems unthinkable that Saturday Night Live could go on right now, but April 11’s show may mark something of a milestone – and a cultural record that should prove to be invaluable for the future. As is normal with SNL, some sketches were good and some went on way too long. But “what carried the entire experiment through was the can-do, show-must-go-on spirit, a reminder that comedy can still thrive under the strangest of circumstances.” – The Atlantic
For Theatre History’s Sake, Record Your Plays And Musicals
When there’s another pandemic, your theatre can be the one making history with broadcasts on YouTube or, who knows, something on Quibi. – The Stage (UK)