- Hunt for the Oompa Loompas: Taika Waititi is writing and directing two Charlie and the Chocolate Factory shows for Netflix (The Wrap)
- The industry is adapting to the MIPTV cancellation, with some still headed to Cannes (TBI)
- …And depending on how much longer this goes on, the virus could weigh heavily on the toy industry (The New York Times)
- Pop TV appears to be a bit of collateral damage in the ViacomCBS merger as it drops three original commissions (Variety)
- Voice activation is the talk of the town, and now Spotify is joining the conversation (Engadget)
- Turning the page: ViacomCBS is selling Simon & Schuster (Variety)
- Just a week out, MIPTV parent Reed Exhibition cancels the London Book Fair over COVID-19 concerns (The Guardian)
- Quibi locked in another US$750 million in financing…but will anyone tune in? (The Wrap)
- From nurturing plush to playthings that teach kids how to recycle—here are the coolest things you missed at Toy Fair (Polygon)
- It’s not just a fad: Yolo, which lets you Snapchat anonymously, has raised US$8 million (Tech Crunch)
- It turns out that closing all of the movie theaters hasn’t been great for China’s box office (Variety)
- Apparently watching historical dramas can be good for you…should there be more of the genre for kids? (CBC News)
- Can you be an auteur of video games? Hideo Kojima is certainly making the case that he is (The New York Times)
- It’s hard out there to find someone to trust, but LEGO has come out on top (CNBC)
- Netflix is asking courts to cancel the Choose Your Own Adventure trademark, saying it’s too generic of a term (The Verge)
- Snapchat has invested in hyper-condensed shows you can watch on your phone—but is anyone really tuning in? (Vulture)
- There’s a new content fund in town: UK studios are getting together to create a US$640-million investment fund (The Hollywood Reporter)
- How a host of new buyers are reviving the reality TV industry (Variety)
- Walmart may be getting out of the content game, but it’s going after Amazon in a different way (CNET)
- Hollywood studios are all putting together COVID19 strategy teams…just in case (Variety)
- How have video games escaped remake fatigue? (The Hollywood Reporter)
- YouTube rarely reinstates removed videos, even when creators appeal and go through the right procedures (The Verge)
- From adorable toy to demon from the underworld—what happened to Furby? (AV Club)
- Coronavirus is affecting the content industry, and companies are pulling out of CinemaCon (Deadline)
- …Meanwhile, the toy industry could be hit hard, as the virus causes supply chain disruption (Yahoo News)
- The Lizzie McGuire reboot is still on hold as Disney+ figures out what type of content it wants (Variety)
- Who is making money and who is losing money at the end of this earnings season? (The Hollywood Reporter)
- It was a big day for Disney yesterday with Bob Iger stepping down (BBC News)
- …So who is Bob Chapek, its new CEO? (Variety)
- Oh, and Hulu also got a new CEO yesterday (Deadline)
- We told you AVODs were the hot new acquisition target; Comcast has acquired Xumo (The Verge)
- From Baby Yoda to ASMR—all of the most interesting toys you missed at Toy Fair (WIRED)
- Netflix is rolling out a new feature that highlights a region’s top-10 shows (The Verge)
- Why the streaming boom is a double-edged sword for TV writers (New York Times)
- Dispatches from Toy Fair: How the toy industry has turned nearly all of its attention to YouTubers (Wall Street Journal)
- …And a deep dive into why Nickelodeon is doing the same (Forbes)
- AVOD is the hot new acquisition trend: NBCU is reportedly in talks to buy Walmart’s Vudu, and Fox is after Tubi (Tubefilter)
- Pixar’s new film Onward makes LGBT people commonplace, and hopefully it’s the last time people make a big deal about it (Slate)
- …Meanwhile, Disney has taken a risk and given Mulan a PG-13 rating. Will it pay off? (CBR)
- Sesame Street and the Minions are inspiring more than just toys—the characters are helping architects create new designs (Business Insider)
- ViacomCBS is expanding CBS All Access into a “House of Brands” streamer for all of its labels (Deadline)
- The Da Vinci Code for kids? Dan Brown is writing his first children’s book (ABC News)
- Hasbro and Disney extend the licensing agreement for Star Wars and Marvel for another few years (CNBC)
- Netflix has already won streaming in the US, now it’s going after some key international markets (The Verge)
- …Meanwhile, in the UK, Amazon Prime Video is in the lead after it launched Premier League last year (The Guardian)
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