COVID-19 has altered most industries. Nowhere is this more evident than with the world of entertainment. Everything from professional sports to movie production.
We are just now seeing sports open up. There is, however, great uncertainty. Major League Baseball is playing in front of empty stadiums, forgoing all that ticket revenue. The season is 60 games as opposed to 162, with the players getting a pro rata share of what they would over a full season.
The NBA is operating in a "bubble", a way that isolates players from the outside world. So far, many players were already caught leaving the bubble.
A number of players chose to opt out of the seasons, forgoing the opportunity to play. Instead, they will remain home with their families.
Even though people are basically on lock down, the need to push more entertainment is disrupted. Live sports obviously was non-existent over the past few months. It is questionable how long we will see them if a "second wave" continues. There is already talks of postponing the entire college football season and even college basketball is in question.
Another area that is being completely upended is in the area of production. Many major studios already delayed filming and release of a number of films the industry was looking forward to.
This week it was announced that 'Mulan', Disney's highly acclaimed action thriller is following Christopher Nolan's 'Tenet', which was delayed indefinitely. We also see the sequels to Star Wars and Avatar also put off for at least another year.
This is obviously having a major impact on the movie theaters. They are still closed with AMC announcing their reopening was being pushed back until mid or late August. This is putting that company in dire jeopardy. It already has need $300 million in debt financing to carry it through the shut down.
If I had to bet, I would say this is a company that ends up in bankruptcy court before it is all over.
There is another consideration, one that is presently being shot down by movie executives. Some are suggesting that theaters might be bypassed entirely as studios decide to send their films directly to their streaming outlets. Both HBO and Disney can pull this off.
Many do not consider that the television industry is facing similar implications. The fact that filming is under pressure for a variety of reasons, the biggest being insurance is not available due to the risk of shut down, new shows simply are not going to be available. As we head towards the fall, most networks put on new episodes.
This is the end of the summer rerun season. During these months, when people are traditionally engaged in outdoor activities as the weather is nice, television is full of reruns. Yet, come the Fall, this all changes.
We could see a different situation this year. New episodes are likely not to be available. This means more reruns. While the viewing public might be upset, advertisers will definitely be so. They pay top dollar for shows that have hit ratings. New episodes pull in the numbers; reruns do not.
All this serves to impact the bottom line. Many of the large corporate entities will survive. However, as we are seeing many companies, especially those without the size and market dominance, will find it impossible to keep out of bankruptcy court.
The entertainment industry is going to see a radical change in the next few years. COVID-19 is certainly going to accelerate things in a different direction.
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