NBA suspends season, more New York talk shows suspend audiences
The coronavirus continues to wreck havoc in every faucet of life and it’s getting worse by the day as more and more people are affected with the deadly virus. Never before in the modern media era have we seen… anything like this. Here’s the latest:
– The NBA became the latest casualty as the league Wednesday night as a player for the Utah Jazz tested positive for COVID-19. The game between the team and the Oklahoma City Thunder was postponed. The league did not clarify if the playoffs or NBA Finals would be held. The huge losers of this decision are the league’s rights-holders: Turner Sports, ESPN/ABC, and numerous regional sports networks, such as NBC Sports Chicago and Fox Sports Wisconsin as the canceled games amount to lots of lost revenue.
– All New York City’s late-night talk shows – including those hosted by Jimmy Fallon, Stephen Colbert, Seth Myers, John Oliver, and others – are forgoing studio audiences for the time being, joining their daytime counterparts. There is no word on Jimmy Kimmel Live, which is taped in Los Angeles, or Windy City Live, a local talk show taped here on if they plan to suspend hosting live audiences.
There were more cancellations – more than forty announced Wednesday alone, including the NAB Show and the Worldwide Radio Summit. And as expected, Chicago canceled their two St. Patrick’s Day parades as did other cities.
– A person who worked at the Prudential Building in the Loop tested positive for the coronavirus. Entercom’s radio stations and the Chicago Tribune all have offices in the building. There is no word on how these media companies would be affected. A reporter for the Houston Chronicle also tested positive for the virus.
For the latest on how the coronavirus is affecting the media business – both nationally and locally, I urge you to follow the blog on Twitter at @TDogMedia for the latest updates. Thank you.