Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on television in the United States

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a substantial impact on the television industry, particularly in the United States, mirroring its impacts across all arts sectors, shutting down or delaying production of television programs in many countries with consequent negative impacts on revenues (through rights and advertising sales) and employment.

Among the most noticeable on-camera effects is the more frequent use of remote locations as many on-camera personalities and interviewees broadcast from their homes. Such measures and changes have been done to appeal to social distancing mandates as well as commitments by production companies and broadcast organizations to keep on-air and off-air talent, staff, and audiences safe.

The pandemic has served as the event with the most effect on the American television industry since the 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike, which disrupted nearly all scripted and daily talk show television production.

Impact on scheduling

Broadcasters have been dependent on their remaining inventory of completed programs that have not yet aired, and the remaining completed episodes of series whose production was interrupted.[1]

Due to factors such as the need to ration series that have already completed production, some programs have faced scheduling changes (such as replacing double-runs of new episodes with single episodes), delays of their scheduled premieres, or dividing seasons of programs with natural hiatuses (with the remaining episodes airing at a later date once production resumes).[2][3]

Impact on the 2020–21 television season

See also: 2020–21 United States network television schedule

It was reported that the major broadcast networks had begun to develop contingency plans in case of extended disruptions (especially if they were to impact fall series for the 2020–21 television season), including the possibility of filling schedules with series from co-owned cable networks and streaming services, or importing programs new to American audiences from other countries such as Canada.[1]

On CBS, Season 32 of The Amazing Race was pushed back to a fall premiere, with the new sports game show Game On! moved up to fill its spot on the summer schedule. In regards to fall scripted programming, CBS Entertainment president Kelly Kahl stated that they were "hopeful that we can go into production at some point this summer and have most if not all of these shows on at some point in the fall." Kahl did not rule out other contingencies.[4][5] On July 13, CBS moved up S.W.A.T.. to a fall premiere to replace Survivor, which was unable to resume production in time.[6]

In May 2020, Fox announced its primetime lineup for the upcoming fall season; most of its scripted live-action programs (besides animated series such as The Simpsons, which can be readily produced on a remote basis) were delayed to midseason, while Filthy Rich, neXt, and the next season of MasterChef Junior were pushed back from summer to fall premieres, joined tentatively by a fourth season of The Masked Singer, as well as Thursday Night Football and Friday Night SmackDown. Fox also acquired network premieres of L.A.'s Finest (a series originally picked up by cable provider Charter Communications after being turned down by NBC) and Cosmos: Possible Worlds (from former sister network National Geographic, which aired earlier in the year) for the fall lineup.[7][8]

Similarly, The CW announced that it would delay all original scripted premieres to a cycle beginning in January 2021, and that its fall lineup for the upcoming season would rely primarily on acquisitions and delayed summer series, including new seasons of The Outpost and Pandora, linear premieres of series from CBS and WarnerMedia's streaming services CBS All Access (Tell Me a Story) and DC Universe (Swamp Thing), new imports such as Coroner (Canada) and Dead Pixels (United Kingdom), as well as new and existing non-scripted series such as Penn & Teller: Fool Us, Whose Line Is It Anyway?, and World's Funniest Animals.[9] Subsequent acquisitions and renewals, including Sky Studios' Devils and a second season of Two Sentence Horror Stories led to Dead Pixels being moved ahead to an August premiere, joining further imports from Canada and the UK such as Being Rueben, Fridge Wars, Killer Camp, and Taskmaster (although Taskmaster would be pulled after its premiere due to low viewership).[10][11][12][13][14]

NBC announced on May 14 that it had acquired the Canadian medical drama Transplant, with a premiere date to be determined. In Canada, where the series aired at midseason on CTV, Transplant was the most-watched domestic production of the television season.[15][16] NBC scheduled the series for a September 1 premiere.[17]

Scripted programming

See also: 2020 in American television and 2019–20 United States network television schedule

Suspension of production

The production of many scripted television series have been affected by the pandemic. On March 10, Fox announced that a production member of the upcoming show NeXt has tested positive for the coronavirus. Production of the series was completed one week before the announcement.[18] Furthermore, the Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier suspended its international production in Prague, where a week of filming was set aside. Filming continued in Atlanta until filming statewide was suspended two weeks later.[19]

On March 12, Universal Television delayed shooting for the shows Russian Doll, Rutherford Falls, and Little America.[20] A few hours later, NBCUniversal announced that 35 additional shows would suspend production, including unscripted shows. As such, programs such as the three series of the Chicago franchise as well as Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, FBI, New Amsterdam and Superstore had their production suspended; Superstore had to modify its season finale with making its 21st episode in the fifth season the last one produced before the shutdown, short of a 22-episode order.[21] Furthermore, it was revealed that production of Carnival Row had been suspended. Carnival Row was filming in Prague at the time of the production shutdown.[22] The same day, Netflix announced that production on the final season of Grace and Frankie would be suspended as a number of the actors are at high risk for the virus due to their age.[23] Also on March 12, ViacomCBS announced that One Day at a Time would continue production without a studio audience but on March 20, the executive producers stated that production has suspended.[24] Apple suspended production of The Morning Show and Foundation as a precautionary measure. The following day, Apple suspended production on all upcoming shows.[25][26][27]

On March 13, CBS Television Studios announced several series would suspend production including all series that are part of the NCIS franchise, Bull, Dynasty, Nancy Drew, Charmed and The Good Fight. Most of the multi-camera sitcoms produced by CBS Television Studios had already completed production;[28] The Neighborhood was to film its season finale without a studio audience, but ultimately chose to suspend production the next day, scrapping the planned season finale episode.[29]

The same day, AMC suspended production of Fear the Walking Dead and The Walking Dead.[30] Also on March 13, Warner Bros. Television had suspended production on multiple series including Young Sheldon, All Rise, Bob Hearts Abishola, God Friended Me, Supergirl and Batwoman. The same day, Warner Bros. also suspended production on several other series including Euphoria and Snowpiercer. As well as other Warner Bros. produced television shows being filmed in Vancouver, Canada: Riverdale, The Flash, Batwoman, and Supernatural.[31] Lastly, Netflix announced that production on all its films and series in the United States and Canada would be suspended. Production in other countries would be assessed on a case-by-case basis.[32] With the show's cancellation by CBS, the last filmed episode of God Friended Me was retooled into a series finale by incorporating reusable footage from past episodes, and culminating with location footage that had originally been filmed for its original pilot episode, but saved for potential use within a season or series finale.[33][34]

20th Television and ABC Studios suspended production on multiple series, including Empire (prematurely ending its final season), Pose, Queen of the South, American Housewife, as well as Grey's Anatomy and Genius.[35] On March 14, Sony Pictures Television announced that it would suspend production on several series including The Blacklist and The Goldbergs.[36] The Blacklist would utilize animated sequences inspired by graphic novels in order to complete the partially-filmed episode as a premature season finale.[37]

On March 15, MGM Television revealed that it had suspended production of The Handmaid's Tale. Filmed episodes may air sometime in 2021.[38] Another Hulu series, The Orville, also suspended production. Last Man Standing originally planned to film its season finale without a studio audience before ultimately suspending production. Both The Orville and Last Man Standing were among the last television series to suspend production.[39] NBC pulled the April 7 episode of its medical drama New Amsterdam for sensitivity reasons (as it dealt with a flu pandemic affecting New York City, a real-life epicenter of the outbreak).[40]

The big three networks' soap operas also suspended production, with CBS's The Bold and the Beautiful and The Young and the Restless, and ABC's General Hospital eventually running out of first-run episodes by late-April and late-May respectively (leading to all three shows beginning to air themed reruns of classic episodes in the interim). Strategies were employed to ration remaining episodes, including not airing first-run episodes on Fridays (in favor of reruns), while General Hospital also employed increased use of flashback scenes from recent storylines to draw out its remaining inventory of episodes. By contrast, as episodes of NBC's Days of Our Lives are produced roughly eight months in advance of their broadcast, the program had a much larger backlog of first-run episodes available. Viewership of U.S. soap operas saw gains as mitigation measures were applied nationwide in late-March, with both The Bold and the Beautiful and General Hospital seeing their best ratings since March 2018, while Days of our Lives and The Young and the Restless saw their best ratings since 2019.[41][42][43][44]

New programming

The children's program Sesame Street produced a half-hour special, Sesame Street: Elmo's Playdate, which dealt with the pandemic and socializing with others remotely. It premiered on April 14, airing in simulcast across multiple WarnerMedia networks (including HBO, which has served as the current first-run broadcaster of the series since 2016) and the PBS Kids channel. The special was underwritten by WarnerMedia parent company AT&T, airing commercial-free.[45][46] Apple TV+ also launched a spin-off of Fraggle Rock, Fraggle Rock: Rock On!, filmed entirely using iPhone smartphones from the performers' homes.[47]

Nickelodeon ordered two new shows, tentatively titled Group Chat: The Show and Game Face.[48] The channel also ordered an extra episode of Danger Force, over web streaming.[49] It also commissioned podcasts based on The Loud House, Blue's Clues & You!, The Casagrandes, and Are You Afraid of The Dark?, as well as one about its animation studio.[50][51]

YouTube commissioned a mystery series from Sinking Ship Entertainment, Locked Down, for its YouTube Originals brand.[52]

On April 30, NBC aired a one-off, remotely-produced reunion episode of its sitcom Parks and Recreation, "A Parks and Recreation Special", in support of Feeding America.[53]

The CBS legal drama All Rise produced a topical episode, "Dancing at Los Angeles", as a replacement season finale that aired in May. It was filmed from its actors' homes using videoconferencing, depicting the in-universe version of the Los Angeles Superior Court conducting its first virtual bench trial due to the pandemic.[54]

On May 22, Apple TV+'s Mythic Quest: Raven's Banquet released a special episode filmed using iPhone smartphones, showing an in-universe impact of the pandemic on its characters.[55]

Live-action sitcom One Day at a Time created an animated, presidential election-themed episode, "The Politics Episode", which premiered on June 16.[56]

On July 16, NBC broadcast a one-off reunion episode of its sitcom 30 Rock; the episode was co-produced by NBCUniversal's creative services department and intended to serve as its upfronts presentation in lieu of a physical event — incorporating product placement and promotions for upcoming series across NBCUniversal properties (including, in particular, its new Peacock streaming service), and being screened in a remote presentation to advertising partners and the media earlier in the day. Due to its promotional nature, many NBC affiliates declined to broadcast the special.[57][58]

Several networks have ordered scripted series set during the pandemic, including Joanna Johnson's Love in the Time of Corona for Freeform, Jenji Kohan's anthology Social Distance for Netflix, Martin Gero and Brendan Gall's Connected for NBC (which was ordered straight-to-series), and a remote work-themed workplace comedy being developed by Ben Silverman and Paul Lieberstein of The Office fame.[59]

Resumption of modified production

In late-April 2020, Tyler Perry told Deadline Hollywood that he planned to resume production of programming at his Atlanta-based Tyler Perry Studios by June, with plans to test cast and crew members on-site before they travel, sequester them on the Fort McPherson site's housing, barracks, and other purpose-built structures for the duration of production (which Perry estimates typically takes two-and-a-half weeks for a full season), quarantine them until the results of a second test are received, and test them again at least every four days afterward. Perry stated that he wrote his scripts with a smaller amount of personnel and cast members in mind.[60][61]

On April 30, industry group Film Florida released a comprehensive series of recommendations and safety protocols for film and television production, ranging from regular health screenings to limits to the amount of on-site staff, not sharing microphones and other equipment, using clear barriers between actors when marking and establishing shots, and other considerations regarding use of personal protective equipment by crew members. The group noted that studios should "anticipate inefficiencies due to new procedures", and that the guidelines should be used in conjunction with industry guidelines once established.[62] On May 22, Georgia (which, primarily via the Atlanta area, has become a major southern hub for television and film production) became the first state to formally release such guidelines, drawing from guidance from local officials and studios, as well as the Film Florida guidelines.[63]

On June 5, Governor Gavin Newsom announced that California film and television production could resume beginning June 12, subject to approval by county public health officers following a review of local conditions. The California Department of Public Health stated that workers "should abide by safety protocols agreed by labor and management, which may be further enhanced by county public health officers." Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer initially stated that production would not be authorized in Los Angeles County at that time, due to an increase in recent hospitalizations within the area.[64] On June 10, Ferrer announced that film and television production in Los Angeles County could resume under the next phase of health orders taking effect June 12.[65]

On June 18, Deadline reported that NBCUniversal had begun an incremented return to work at its facilities, including exercises of new protocols. NBCUniversal also performed in-house production of materials such as face masks and hand sanitizer via its Facilities and Administration department for use at other sites outside of California.[66]

On June 17 at Television City, The Bold and the Beautiful became one of the first U.S. scripted television series to resume on-set tapings, although production subsequently went on a one-week hiatus in order to accommodate modifications to its protocols to handle the larger number of tests needed.[67] Scenes are being filmed in such a way as to allow physical distancing on-set, and other family members of cast members may be used as stand-ins during scenes that require intimacy. On June 23, it was reported that the resumption had been delayed by one day, as the studio needed to switch testing providers because one provided by Television City had produced too many false positives [68] The Bold and the Beautiful began airing first-run episodes on July 20.[69] Fellow CBS soap The Young and the Restless will begin airing new episodes on August 10,[70] and Days of our Lives plans to resume production by September.[69][71] General Hospital resumed production on July 22, with ABC announcing that first-run episodes would return on August 3.[72]

On July 25, Tyler Perry's BET series Sistas became one of the first U.S. scripted primetime series to complete a full season of filming under COVID-19-related safety protocols. Perry reported that there were four positive cases among extras and crew who arrived, and that the start of production had faced a delay due to slower turnarounds for testing admit a nationwide spike. While Perry hoped a vaccine would soon be available, he explained that "we are set up for the long haul, we could be here for a year and a half, two years, five years if we needed to."[61]

Unscripted programming

See also: 2019–20 United States network television schedule (daytime) and 2019–20 United States network television schedule

Suspension of production

In mid-March, Sony Pictures suspended production of its game shows Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! (Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek has a weakened immune system due to his pancreatic cancer).[73] Other postponed productions include American Ninja Warrior, Card Sharks, The Price Is Right and The Real Housewives of New Jersey.[74][75]

ABC reality series The Bachelorette delayed filming for its sixteenth season, which was set to premiere on May 18.[76] A retrospective spin-off, The Bachelor: The Greatest Seasons – Ever!, premiered on June 8, featuring highlights and behind-the-scenes footage of past seasons of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette.[77] On April 29, Variety reported that Bachelor spin-off series Bachelor in Paradise had postponed its seventh season to 2021, and that ABC was pursuing filming The Bachelorette over the summer for a fall premiere.[78] ABC had also planned to produce The Bachelor Summer Games, but shelved the series shortly after the postponement of the 2020 Summer Olympics (which the series was intended to counterprogram, just as its counterpart The Bachelor Winter Games had for the 2018 Winter Olympics).[79]

Prometheus Entertainment claimed that its productions of the History programs Ancient Aliens, The Curse of Oak Island, and The UnXplained were exempt from Los Angeles' stay-at-home order, which declared "front line news reporters, studio, and technicians for newsgathering and reporting" to be "essential critical infrastructure workers". President Kevin Burns, according to The Hollywood Reporter, told employees they needed to "get over it" and were "hysterical"; the company required staff to attend work through at least March 20.[80]

CBS reality series The Amazing Race stopped production on its thirty-third season in late February after filming the season's first three episodes (which were mostly filmed in the United Kingdom), and the preceding thirty-second season was set to premiere on May 20 (although that season was filmed in late 2018) but was pushed back to a fall premiere.[81][82] Production of the 41st and 42nd seasons of Survivor, which were due to film in Fiji at the end of respective months of March and May, was postponed due to the coronavirus threat in the country.[83] While the program's producers aimed to potentially begin production of season 41 in May for a fall premiere, it did not come to fruition, and the next season of S.W.A.T. (originally scheduled for a midseason premiere) was moved up to take its place.[6]

Modified production

Fremantle initially announced that the fifteenth season of America's Got Talent (NBC), and Season 22 of Family Feud (syndicated), would film without an audience.[74] Starting the week of March 10, CBS began displaying disclaimers in the end credits for The Price Is Right during episodes recorded from late-2019 into 2020, disclosing that producers will arrange substitute prizes for contestants who won trips as prizes for locales impacted by the pandemic.[84]

ABC's primetime reboot of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire quickly filmed over eight episodes' worth of material during the weekend of March 14 (wrapping production one day sooner than scheduled). The program filmed with no studio audience beyond staff present on-set, resulting in the replacement of its "Ask the Audience" lifeline with "Ask the Host". The program's new host Jimmy Kimmel credited his early career in radio in helping adapt to the environment.[85][86]

After filming without an audience for the remainder of its audition rounds, America's Got Talent suspended production on March 14; filming of the auditions was originally scheduled to conclude on March 20.[87] To help attract additional contestants, NBC announced on April 1 that it would open a new round of online auditions.[88] By April 27, production staff decided that the season would premiere on May 26 as planned.[89][90][91] The show ultimately resumed production in June with a streamlined version of its "Judge Cuts" round, in an outdoor stage setting (made to resemble a drive-in theater) in Simi Valley, California with enhanced safety protocols and remote performances.[92] The live quarter-finals (which, due to the revised Judge Cuts format, also had a larger field with four heats rather than three as in past seasons) shifted to Universal Studios Hollywood, with a mix of pre-recorded remote performances, and in-person performances emanating from various locations around the park and the Universal Studios Lot.[93]

The 18th season of American Idol (ABC) shifted to an at-home format beginning with its Top 20 round on April 26, with its contestants and judging panel conducting the program from their residences.[94][95] The 18th season of The Voice (NBC) followed suit for the final three weeks of the season.[96]

The third season of The Masked Singer (Fox) already completed filming before pandemic-related restrictions took effect. Eased by the overall presentation of the series, acknowledgements to the pandemic were added in post-production of the final episodes, such as dialogue by Night Angel referencing the panic buying of toilet paper. The penultimate "Road to the Finals" episode also included a special performance of "What the World Needs Now Is Love" dedicated to first responders, featuring season 3 contestant Dionne Warwick and the remaining three finalists. The performance was filmed after production wrapped.[97] The fourth season was tentatively scheduled by Fox for a fall premiere; executive producer Craig Plestis stated in late-June 2020 that beyond safety protocols being in place, they had not yet finalized if there would be any other changes in production.[98]

After a pre-scheduled hiatus, Live PD (A&E) returned on April 15 with a series of pandemic-themed episodes under the title Live PD: Special Edition. These episodes deviated from the program's usual format (which follows patrols by police officers in real time) by covering responses to COVID-19 by first responders, hospitals, and other officials. On June 10, after having been suspended on June 6 following protests over the killing of George Floyd, the program was cancelled by A&E and its producers.[99][100][101][102]

The second season of Love Island (CBS) was set to premiere on May 21, but production (which was expected to occur in Fiji) was suspended indefinitely.[103] To fill its time slot, CBS scheduled a Sunday-night movie block to run throughout May and early-June, drawing from the library of corporate sibling Paramount Pictures.[104][103] On August 5, CBS announced that Love Island would premiere on August 24, and would be set at The Cromwell casino hotel in Las Vegas.[105][106]

After being delayed from its usual June premiere, the 22nd season of Big Brother — Big Brother All-Stars — premiered on August 5. The format already takes place in an isolated living environment, but general precautions will be taken by production staff (including use of masks and being restricted to specific areas), contestants were tested and quarantined prior to entering the Big Brother house, and are being tested weekly. Live shows will be held without a studio audience.[107] [108]

Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy!, which as mentioned above shut down production in March, were scheduled to resume production in August. Sets were modified to allow for social distancing, contestants and crew members will be tested constantly, and there will be no studio audience.[109] Fellow syndicated game show 25 Words or Less is planning to have host Meredith Vieira present the program remotely from her home in New York City, but still have contestants on-set in Los Angeles.[110]

Fox resumed production of its upcoming music game show I Can See Your Voice in August 2020, after production was suspended with one episode completed. The series will be filmed with no studio audience.[111]

New programming

TLC premiered a spin-off of 90 Day Fiancé, 90 Day Fiancé: Self-Quarantined, on April 20, following the impact of the pandemic on series alumni. The series uses self-recorded video and videoconferencing.[112] The network also announced Find Love Live, an interactive dating game show conducted via videoconferencing, as a three-week event series premiering on May 10.[113] In June 2020, TLC renewed Find Love Live for additional episodes beginning June 22.[114]

Fox premiered Celebrity Watch Party—a 10-episode U.S. adaptation of the British series Gogglebox, on May 7.[115][116]

On May 11, Food Network premiered a pandemic-themed cooking show, Amy Schumer Learns to Cook, starring comedian Amy Schumer and her husband Chris Fischer.[117]

On May 29, CBS aired the Jerry O'Connell and Rebecca Romijn-hosted special Haircut Night in America, which focused on providing advice for DIY hairstyling.[118]

On July 13, E! premiered Celebrity Call Center, a series featuring celebrities engaging in remote conversations with members of the general public.[119]

Talk shows and variety programs

See also: 2020 in American television and 2019–20 United States network television schedule (late night)

Suspension of production

On March 10 and 11, a number of talk shows announced they would begin filming without a studio audience, including both daytime and late night talk shows.[120][121][122][123] Beginning March 12, number of talk shows – including those which had before planned to tape without an audience – announced they would suspend production entirely. Both The Late Show and The Tonight Show already had hiatuses scheduled in late-March.[124]

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (CBS), The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (NBC), and Jimmy Kimmel Live! (ABC, with guest host Pete Buttigieg) all filmed one final, studio-based episode with no audience, airing on March 12. Late Night with Seth Meyers (NBC) scrapped the night's taping entirely after its scheduled guests dropped out: that night's A Closer Look (which had already been written beforehand) was still taped as a web-exclusive segment.[125][126]

Last Week Tonight (HBO) filmed one more episode from an alternate, undisclosed location (due to the closure of the CBS Broadcast Center, its usual studio, for disinfection), with host John Oliver announcing that the show would go on hiatus.[127]

Modified production

See also: Daytime television in the United States § Talk shows, and List of late-night American network TV programs § Current

In the wake of the suspensions, late-night hosts such as Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, and Seth Meyers began to produce topical videos for YouTube from their homes or other locations, with a focus on monologues and celebrity interviews performed via videoconferencing (while Kimmel also experimented with an in-person interview of Bill Burr by doing it from his car, taping an iPad to his side window to use as a camera).[128] While primarily distributed on digital platforms such as YouTube, from March 16 to 18, CBS aired Colbert's segments on television to augment reruns of The Late Show (replacing the existing opening act of the respective episode; the dates had originally been scheduled for original episodes before a regularly-scheduled hiatus for the cancelled NCAA basketball tournament),[129] while NBC began to similarly air Fallon's segments on March 18.[130][131][132][133]

The following week, NBC announced that it would continue on with and expand Fallon's "At Home Edition" format (interspersing new segments with highlights from past episodes), while several other news satire and talk shows, including The Daily Show (Comedy Central; billed as The Daily Social Distancing Show),[134] Full Frontal with Samantha Bee (TBS),[135] Last Week Tonight, and fellow HBO series Real Time with Bill Maher, announced that they would also return to air that week with episodes filmed from their hosts' homes.[136] The Late Show announced on March 25 that it would return in a similar format on March 30 (billed as A Late Show with Stephen Colbert),[137][129] while Jimmy Kimmel Live! announced a similar move on March 27 – making it the last of the big three networks' late-night shows to make such a transition.[138] Fellow Comedy Central late-night program Lights Out with David Spade was suspended, and later cancelled by the network due to low ratings (after which The Daily Show expanded to 45 minutes beginning April 27, 2020).[139]

A number of daytime talk shows have adopted a similar format, including The Ellen DeGeneres Show, The View, and The Talk.[140] After a primetime special on March 30,[141] The Late Late Show with James Corden returned to air with a similar format on April 13, with host James Corden presenting the program from his garage.[142]

NBC's late-night sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live suspended production on March 16, before returning with its own "at-home" episode on April 11, with sketches and music performances recorded or produced remotely from its cast members' and musicians' homes, and hosted by actor and COVID-19 patient Tom Hanks.[143][144] After becoming the second-highest-rated episode of the season, NBC announced that a second episode with a similar format would air on April 25.[145] An At Home season finale aired on May 9, hosted by Kristen Wiig.[146]

The annual PBS Independence Day special A Capitol Fourth cancelled its live concert in favor of recorded segments (including highlights of past editions in honor of the program's 40th anniversary, and tributes to first responders and African Americans), although the live fireworks on Capitol Hill would still go on and be televised.[147] The Macy's 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular special on NBC similarly relied on recorded performances from various locations (including the Grand Ole Opry and the Prairie Sun Recording Studios), and the fireworks themselves were launched from locations in each New York City borough on multiple nights (with each night's location only revealed shortly prior to avoid prolonged gatherings), which were then compiled for broadcast.[148][149][150]

On July 6, 2020, after having used an at-home format, TBS's Conan became the U.S. late-night show to begin airing episodes from outside of their host's home, with host Conan O'Brien presenting the program from the Coronet Theatre in Los Angeles with limited on-site staff. The program will continue to use remote interviews and be filmed without a studio audience (besides assistant Sona Movsesian).[151][152] On July 13, The Tonight Show became the first U.S. late-night talk show to return to tapings at their normal facility (although at NBC Studios' Studio 6A with a new set rather than Studio 6B, where the show usually originates), with limited on-site crew (including his house band The Roots) and no studio audience or guests.[153] On August 6, 2020, CBS announced that The Late Show and The Late Late Show would also return to studio tapings with no audience on August 10; The Late Show returned to the Ed Sullivan Theater building but not the auditorium proper, using a smaller, secondary studio modeled upon Colbert's personal office at the building.[154][155][156]

New programming

New variety programming

Various specials featuring musicians performing from their homes emerged, including Fox's iHeart Living Room Concert for America (which aired in place of the postponed 2020 iHeartRadio Music Awards, and was simulcast by iHeartMedia radio stations and Fox Corporation cable channels),[157][158] a CBS special featuring Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood,[103] ACM Presents: Our Country (a similar multi-artist program aired in place of the postponed ACM Awards, also on CBS),[159] The Disney Family Singalong (an ABC special on April 16, which featured karaoke performances of songs from Disney works with celebrity guests),[160] One World: Together at Home (which aired on April 18 as a multi-network simulcast across ABC, CBS, NBC, and various other cable networks and streaming services), Saturday Night Seder (streamed live of April 11),[161] and Saving Our Selves (aired by BET on April 22, with a particular focus on the pandemic's impact on African-American communities),[162][163]

On May 16, the major networks and various other outlets simulcast Graduate Together: America Honors the High School Class of 2020, a national special honoring graduating students.[164]

New talk programming

AMC premiered a new weekly talk show on April 17, Friday Night In with The Morgans, hosted by Jeffrey Dean Morgan (of AMC series The Walking Dead) and his wife Hilarie Burton from their farm in New York, featuring remote interviews and other segments dealing with the pandemic. On May 4, AMC ordered additional episodes of the series.[165][166]

News

See also: Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on politics § United States

Modified broadcasting

Amidst their coverage, television newscasts and news channels, have encouraged physical distancing on-set, remote work, and increased use of remote interviews – in order to comply with CDC guidelines, with in-person interviews (universally with the reporter both shooting and editing their story alone) often using improvised setups to allow distancing, including microphone extensions adapted from monopods and improvised PVC pipe booms. Local newscasts have faced similar changes, with stations often limiting newscasts to one studio anchor (or two if physically distanced), and newsrooms minimally staffed. Local newscasters began working from home in some cases, with a minimal number of staff remaining at the studio. Some meteorologists have already had this capability, in order to provide coverage of severe weather events during overnight hours if no one else is present at the studio.[167][168][169]

On March 15, a one-on-one debate for the 2020 Democratic presidential primaries took place between former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Bernie Sanders. After initially intending to hold the event at its original venue in Phoenix, Arizona with no audience or outside press, the debate was re-located to CNN's Washington, D.C. bureau to reduce unnecessary travel.[170][171] It was ultimately the only debate during the pandemic, as Biden clinched the Democratic nomination shortly thereafter. Biden subsequently conducted media appearances and meetings from his home in Delaware via videoconferencing.[172][173]

Two of the Big Three networks' national morning shows — ABC's Good Morning America and NBC's Today —continued to have in-studio anchors in New York City, although some anchors were temporarily moved home, including Today's Al Roker and Craig Melvin (as a precaution after a staff member of the program tested positive with mild symptoms),[174][175] and GMA's Robin Roberts (as a precaution due to past medical issues) and George Stephanopoulos.[176][177]

On March 11, the CBS Broadcast Center facility in New York City was closed for disinfection after two employees tested positive, resulting in CBS This Morning temporarily moving to the set of the CBS Evening News in Washington, D.C., and the newscasts of CBS-owned New York station WCBS-TV being produced and anchored remotely. While it re-opened on March 13,[178][179] it was closed once again on March 18. CBS This Morning subsequently moved to the set of The Late Show at the Ed Sullivan Theater, before switching to a remotely-anchored format by late-March to minimize staff amidst heightening cases in the region.[180] CBSN programs (including the CBS Weekend News) have been hubbed from several of CBS's other local stations, and WCBS-TV newscasts were once again been hubbed from Los Angeles sister station KCBS-TV.[181][182][183][184]

On June 22, in concert with phase 2 of New York City's lifting of restrictions, CBS This Morning returned to its studio at the CBS Broadcast Center, with minimized staff and at least one anchor continuing to host from home as a contingency. Fox News Channel's morning show Fox & Friends also resumed in-studio production, with social distancing enforced on-set.[176]

Pandemic-related programs

As the crisis became more obvious and activated, television news outlets began to increase their coverage of its impact at the local and national levels.[168] Fox News Channel added more live rolling news blocks to its schedule (including an extension of Fox News @ Night to 1:00 a.m. nightly, and a new overnight block anchored by Trace Gallagher), while Fox Business Network scuttled most of its prime time programming in order to carry additional coverage on its impact.[168][185] ABC replaced its daytime talk show Strahan, Sara and Keke with Pandemic: What You Need To Know, a special weekday program produced by ABC News Live and hosted by Amy Robach. After its late-night talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live! suspended production, ABC returned its long-running late-night newsmagazine Nightline to its original 11:35 p.m. timeslot from March 17 through April 10 (when it moved to 12:05 a.m., following the half-hour at-home episodes of Jimmy Kimmel Live!), with a focus on in-depth coverage.[186][168][187]

Most of NBC's owned-and-operated stations extended their local late-night newscasts to a full hour from March 16 to 27.[188] NBC's Spanish network Telemundo pre-empted its late-night sports program Titulares y Más as sport had shut down because of the pandemic and extended their nightly news show Noticias Telemundo with additional programming billed as Coronavirus: Un Pais en Alerta (Coronavirus: A Nation On Alert), along with temporarily extending its morning show Un Nuevo Día by 90 minutes, its midday newscast Noticias Telemundo Mediodía by an additional half-hour and its afternoon newsmagazine Al Rojo Vivo by one hour, in place of telenovela repeats and unscripted entertainment programs normally shown in some weekday daytime slots.[189][190]

On April 26, Netflix premiered a special limited season of its documentary series Explained, entitled Coronavirus, Explained. The first of the three planned episodes was produced in two-and-a-half weeks, and reused interview footage that had previously been recorded for an episode on pandemics in general.[191]

In This Together: A PBS American Portrait Story premiered on May 8, 2020 as part of a larger series based on viewer-submitted content.[192]

Although Pandemic: What You Need To Know was initially intended as a limited, interim replacement for Strahan, Sara and Keke, the program would eventually persist beyond its originally-scheduled run. Later in its run, it was quietly renamed GMA3: What You Need To Know (now branding it as a spin-off of ABC's morning show Good Morning America, using the GMA3 subtitle originating from Strahan, Sara and Keke), and expanded its scope to include other news topics unrelated to COVID-19. In July and August 2020, it was reported by Page Six and co-host Keke Palmer respectively that Strahan, Sara and Keke had been cancelled by ABC, although the network has yet to officially confirm that this was the case.[193][194][195]

Quarantines due to positive cases

Media organizations have also faced direct impact from the pandemic. Several correspondents have been diagnosed with coronavirus, including CBS News foreign correspondent Seth Doane, quarantined in Rome,[168][196] ABC News correspondents Kaylee Hartung, quarantined in Los Angeles, and George Stephanopoulos (who contracted it asymptomatically from his wife Ali Wentworth while quarantined at home in New York City),[197][177] and CNN anchors Chris Cuomo, Brooke Baldwin, and Richard Quest.[198]

Departures from networks

On March 27, Fox Business pundit Trish Regan departed the network, amid criticism of a controversial March 9 opening monologue on her nightly program Trish Regan Primetime, accusing Democrats of exploiting the pandemic solely to blame President Donald Trump for it, and launch another round of impeachment hearings.[199][200]

Sports

See also: Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sports

Suspension of games

The suspension of nearly all sports leagues and competitions due to the pandemic has caused complications for broadcasters, as major events frequently have a large number of live viewers and high advertising revenue.[201][202] The largest and most significant events also represent a major investment by broadcasters; in 2019, the total market for sports media rights in the United States was estimated at $22.42 billion, representing 44% of the international market.[203][201][204] CBS Sports and Turner Sports pay $785 million per-year to televise the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament – whose 2020 edition was cancelled only six days before it was scheduled to begin. In 2019, a 30-second commercial during the national championship game on CBS cost around $1.5 million, while CBS and Turner's contract to air the tournament accounts for nearly 72% of the NCAA's annual revenue.[201]

At the time of the suspensions, the National Basketball Association (NBA) and National Hockey League (NHL) were also approaching their respective playoffs, Major League Baseball (MLB) was approaching the start of its regular season, CBS Sports was approaching its spring events such as the Masters Tournament, and NBC Sports was also approaching its spring lineup (promoted as the NBC Sports Championship Season), including the Kentucky Derby, Indianapolis 500, French Open, and the NHL's Stanley Cup Playoffs—all postponed by the pandemic.[201] Analysts felt that a postponement or cancellation of the 2020 Summer Olympics would have a major impact on NBCUniversal, due to the extensive rights fees it had paid to televise them, its large advertising inventory (NBC already announced that it had sold $1.2 billion in advertising for the Games), as well as the extensive use of NBCUniversal's various properties to promote the Olympics and vice versa; NBC was expected to use the Games to bolster the July launch of its new streaming video platform Peacock. On March 24, it was announced that the Games would be postponed to 2021.[201][202][205]

Sports-oriented cable networks have had to revise their schedules due to the lack of live programming, typically relying on reruns of classic events and other original programming, and cutting down on studio programming due to the lack of sports news to discuss beyond the pandemic's impact.[206][207][204] An exception has been the National Football League (NFL), as it has already been in its off-season since early-February. The pandemic's surge in North America roughly coincided with the beginning of off-season business such as the free agency period, and the lead-up to the 2020 NFL Draft, which went on as scheduled, but with no public festivities, and conducted remotely.[208][206][207][209]

Some sports networks have also experimented with other programming; ESPN acquired reruns of several recent editions of WWE's WrestleMania events as part of the lead-up to WrestleMania 36, which had also been impacted by the pandemic,[210] and ESPN2 organized an early reprisal of its annual "ESPN8" stunt (inspired by the depiction of a fictitious, eighth ESPN channel in the film DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story, which airs competitions that are "almost a sport") on March 22,[211] followed by a May 2 edition on the main ESPN network (headlined by a deadlift world record attempt by strongman and Game of Thrones actor Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson).[212][213]

Modified programming

Professional wrestling

One of the few forms of sports-oriented programming in the United States to continue regular broadcasts at the onset of the pandemic was professional wrestling. WWE suspended in-arena broadcasts of its weekly shows WWE Raw and WWE SmackDown beginning March 13, and moved them to a closed studio at its WWE Performance Center training facility in Orlando, with no audience and only essential staff present.[214][215] WWE's flagship pay-per-view WrestleMania 36 (originally scheduled for Raymond James Stadium in Tampa) took place under the same conditions (with two "cinematic" matches filmed at a second Orlando location, and at WWE's Stamford headquarters respectively).[216][217] From the lead-up to WrestleMania through April 10 (and including WrestleMania itself), WWE used a pre-recorded format for its programs, before switching back to live shows on April 13.[218][219] WWE NXT also returned to live broadcasts under similar conditions, from its usual home at Full Sail University in Orlando suburb Winter Park.[218][219] Matches originally intended for NXT TakeOver: Tampa Bay — a cancelled WWE Network card that was meant to serve as a support event for WrestleMania — were retooled for airing on NXT episodes in April.[220]

The government of Florida issued an exemption to the state stay-at-home order on April 9, for staff of a "professional sports and media production" produced behind closed doors for a national audience. Mayor of Orange County, Florida Jerry Demings stated that the exemption was primarily intended for WWE, while Governor Ron DeSantis did not rule out its use by other sports bodies.[221][222][223] All subsequent WWE pay-per-views have been broadcast live from the Performance Center since with occasional pre-filmed and "cinematic" matches, including Money in the Bank (May, featuring a revamped version of its eponymous Money in the Bank matches that culminated on the roof of WWE's Stamford headquarters),[224][225] Backlash (June),[226] and Extreme Rules (July, featuring a "swamp fight" match filmed at an outside location).[227][228]

All Elite Wrestling similarly moved its weekly Dynamite to the Daily's Place amphitheater in Jacksonville on March 18.[229] While closed to the public, other performers were present on the sidelines as an audience.[230][231] The show moved to a smaller location in Georgia on April 1, where additional recorded content was stockpiled through April 2.[232] AEW returned to Daily's Place for its Double or Nothing pay-per-view on May 23 (re-located from its original venue, the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas), and also using neighboring TIAA Bank Field for a "Stadium Stampede" match.[233][234] WWE began to add NXT talent and other Performance Center trainees as an on-set audience beginning with the May 25 Raw. They are spaced apart and placed behind glass panes.[230][231]

Resumption of live sports

With the gradual resumption of live sporting events, broadcasters have usually relied all or some of their commentators working remotely from a network's studios or at home to reduce the amount of on-air staff present at venues, although there have been exceptions. For example, CBS's PGA Tour broadcasts have lead commentator Jim Nantz and analysts Mark Immelman and Dottie Pepper present on-site, but all other commentators work remotely.[235] Production teams on-site have typically been isolated into smaller units for social distancing reasons,[236][237][235] if not working aspects of production remotely from their network's studio already (a model that has been used for some ESPN broadcasts even before the pandemic).[238]

To reduce on-site staff during the 2020 Major League Baseball season, the home team's local broadcaster is responsible for producing a neutral host video feed to be used by each broadcaster carrying the game (including the away team's broadcaster and/or a national broadcaster, such as Fox or ESPN, where applicable), which augments it with commentary and surrounding coverage.[239] MLB commentators will not travel to their team's away games, but may broadcast home games on-site at their discretion.[240][241]

With the NBA and NHL having adopted a centralized "hub" approach to complete their 2019–20 seasons, both leagues are employing a similar model with host feeds produced by their national broadcast partners (ESPN and TNT for the NBA, and NBC and Canadian broadcaster Sportsnet for the NHL). Both broadcasters have selected on-air personnel within the quarantine "bubble", but the majority of NBC's commentators are working games remotely.[242][238] Both leagues are also experimenting with new types of camera angles that would not be possible in an arena with spectators present.[242][238]

To compensate for the lack of crowd due to games being held behind closed doors, some broadcasters are employing simulated crowd sounds (often sourced from a league's official video games), with the NHL combining them with recordings of team-specific chants contributed by fans,[242][238] and the NBA using video boards erected on its courts at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex to display mosaics of remote fans powered by Microsoft Teams videoconferencing.[243] Fox is experimenting with the use of "virtual", CGI fans to mask empty stands on its baseball broadcasts.[244] By contrast, ESPN intentionally eschewed simulated crowd noise for its broadcasts of the MLS is Back Tournament, instead leveraging the lack of crowd and additional in-field microphones to provide enhanced in-game audio.[245]

Alternative event programming

Sports broadcasters experimented with televised esports competitions, primarily involving sports video games and participants from their respective sports, such as the ENASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series (whose first event on March 22 attracted 903,000 viewers on Fox Sports 1, making it the highest-rated esports broadcast on U.S. linear television.[246][247] A subsequent event simulcast the following week on Fox surpassed it with 1.339 million viewer),.[248] a seven-week tournament that followed the original NASCAR Cup Series schedule (including taking the Easter week off), ending May 9, 2020 with a race on a recreation of historic NASCAR venue North Wilkesboro Speedway as part iRacing launching the release of the track and 1987 NASCAR Cup Series cars on their service, in lieu of the scheduled Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway (rescheduled for June 10), before the return of in-person Cup Series competition with The Real Heroes 400 at Darlington Raceway.[249] The IndyCar Series and NBC Sports introduced a similar invitational series,[250] while ESPN and the NBA organized an NBA 2K Players Tournament,[251] and Major League Soccer partnered with Fox to hold a televised FIFA 20 tournament, featuring MLS players and professional FIFA 20 players from the game's esports circuit.[252] In professional esports, ESPN2 would simulcast matches from the League of Legends Championship Series Spring playoffs.[253]

ESPN organized a televised H-O-R-S-E competition, featuring NBA and WNBA players competing via remote feeds from their personal courts.[254][255] On May 4, 2020, ESPN announced that it had reached a deal for exclusive U.S. rights to KBO League baseball from South Korea for the 2020 season, leveraging ESPN Major League Baseball personalities working from home.[256] Another major exception to the lack of live sports programming was thoroughbred racing at selected tracks; Fox Sports 1 is simulcasting the New York Racing Association's America's Day at The Races, while NBCSN partnered with TVG Network to simulcast its Trackside Live program on weekend afternoons.[257][258] TVG itself switched to remote production, and on-air personalities began incorporating explanations of technical terminology to accommodate new viewers.[259]

Economic impact

Regional sports networks have also been impacted; the sale of regional broadcast rights serve as a key source of revenue for many sports franchises.[201] Leagues have granted RSNs easier access to archive content to help fill schedules, and some networks have scheduled encores of games against opponents that their respective team would have played if the season had continued play as normal.[204][206][207] In 2019, Sinclair Broadcast Group and Entertainment Studios (as Diamond Sports Group) acquired the RSN chain Fox Sports Networks for $9.6 billion, a transaction mandated as part of Disney's acquisition of 21st Century Fox. The group holds regional rights to 42 professional teams across the country, and voluminous high school and college sports rights.[260] Sinclair is also a joint venture partner with the Chicago Cubs in the team's new Marquee Sports Network.[261] Concerns have been raised that Diamond Sports' investment in the networks may be vulnerable due to the lack of live programming, with an analyst stating that Diamond "may be heading for a liquidity crisis even sooner than we anticipated", as carriage negotiations with major providers may be more difficult without live events.[262]

Sports channels typically demand the highest per-subscriber carriage fees of any cable networks in the country. There have been calls for broadcasters to compensate television providers for the lack of live programming that these fees typically cover; New York Attorney General Letitia James stated that it was "grossly unfair that cable and satellite television providers would continue to charge fees for services they are not even providing".[263]

In June 2020, citing the ending of its carriage agreements, the cancellation of NCAA tournaments, and uncertanties, ESPN announced that it would discontinue ESPN Goal Line/Bases Loaded, a part-time ESPN channel that carried rolling coverage of highlights and look-ins from regular-season college football games, and the NCAA baseball and softball tournaments.[264]

By contrast, two MLB-specific regional networks managed to resolve major carriage impasses during the extended offseason, with the Los Angeles Dodgers' SportsNet LA reaching a deal with AT&T (whose DirecTV subsidiary was the largest provider in the region to not carry the network since its launch in 2014)[265][266] on April 1, 2020,[267] and Marquee reaching a deal with Comcast (as part of a larger pact for Sinclair-owned television stations) on July 24 in time for Opening Day.[268]

Award shows

Several award shows were also postponed, including the 2020 iHeartRadio Music Awards (originally to be held March 29 in Los Angeles and aired by Fox),[269] the 2020 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards (originally to be held on March 22 in Inglewood, California and rescheduled for May 2 in a remote format),[270][271] and the 55th Academy of Country Music Awards (originally to be held April 5 and aired by CBS, but rescheduled for September 16).[272][159] The 74th Tony Awards (originally to be held on June 7 at Radio City Music Hall and aired by CBS) were postponed indefinitely, due largely to mandated closures of Broadway theaters in New York.[273][274] CBS scheduled an airing of Grease as a CBS Sunday Night Movie in place of the ceremony.[275]

The 47th Daytime Emmy Awards cancelled its in-person ceremonies, which had originally been scheduled in a new three-night format.[276] On April 28, the NATAS announced that the presentation would be rescheduled in a remote format,[277] and announced on May 20 that the winners in leading categories would be presented in a CBS special on June 26 — which marked the return of the ceremony to television in any form (after having been aired online) for the first time since 2015, and its return to network television for the first time since 2011.[278]

On May 1, the Television Critics Association cancelled their summer 2020 press tour, originally scheduled for July 28 through August 13, and including the TCA Awards. The organization was unsure it could occur at all due to public gathering restrictions, and an anticipated lack of any new scripted or unscripted programming output, even in pilot form, to promote.[279][280]

The 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards will be produced in a remote format.[281]

Affected productions

Main article: List of American television series impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic

See also

• 2020 in American television
• COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
• Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on television

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