What's news: Big trouble looms for the ad-supported TV business, why Disney shifted Hamilton to Disney+, Tyler Perry aims to restart TV production in July, a Russell Crowe thriller wants to be the first movie back in theaters, Sony has a big quarter but warns of pandemic impact, a flurry of TV pickups. Plus: Josh Gad booked for the thriller Moonfall, and what's behind the ratings slumps at remotely shot TV shows like American Idol? --Alex Weprin

 Advertising Slump About to Hit TV

►Big trouble on the horizon for the TV biz: With most TV advertising commitments locked in well ahead of time, the medium has until now avoided the precipitous drop in advertising spend that hit digital and print as the coronavirus pandemic spread across the globe. That is about to change. The Wall Street Journal reports that a slew of major brands, from Pepsico and General Motors to  Dominos Pizza and General Mills, now have a window to rework their ad spending pans, and can cancel up to 50 percent of their commitments for the third quarter of this year.

--Also: According to a new survey released this morning by Advertiser Perceptions, marketers plan on spending 33 percent less during this year's upfront compared to last year. With around $20 billion usually transacted during the upfront, that works out to a roughly $6.6 billion decline. “The Upfront strikes at the heart of the uncertainty advertisers are struggling with,” said Justin Fromm, evp of business intelligence at Advertiser Perceptions. “They can’t commit long-term but they can’t afford to get caught flat-footed in a tight scatter market, either.”

--“Linear TV networks face the same uncertainty [as marketers],” Fromm added. “They need to take the dollars they can get now, on whatever terms they can. Mostly, that will mean flexibility – being creative to allocate advertising across a network’s platforms and a willingness to return money as needed.”

--The new data has a bitter irony to it, coming the same week that the major TV companies were set to hold their glitzy upfront presentations in New York. Now, instead of marketers ponying up to the CBS lobster bar at The Plaza hotel, or lining up for the photo booths at the Fox tent in Central Park, they are preparing to slash their budgets as worldwide economic uncertainty persists.

►"Disney+ needs product": Why Hamilton moved to streaming so quickly. “Disney+ is the future of the company,” says Pivotal analyst Jeff Wlodarczak. “Right now, once you blow through their library content, unless you have kids under 10, there really is not much new or original content. So going forward, I believe you are going to see more and more exclusive original content on Disney+.”

--Theater owners tell THR they are not rankled by Disney’s decision to take Hamilton off the theatrical calendar. “The movie is done and Disney+ needs product,” says one exhibition executive. This is in stark contrast to the uproar over Universal’s decision to break the theatrical window and launch Trolls World Tour on premium VOD and in any theaters that remained open in early April. Exhibitors fumed, with AMC Theatres going so far as to threaten to boycott any Universal film. Disney seems to have gotten a pass because executives have maintained that high-profile upcoming titles, including the live-action remake of Mulan and Scarlett Johansson starrer Black Widow will be shown in theaters. The story.

►Russell Crowe's Unhinged thriller boldly shifts to early July debut in theaters. Solstice Studios has decided to move up the release of Russell Crowe road rage thriller from September to July 1. The decision means that the movie will be the first new Hollywood offering as theaters reopen on a major scale after shutting down in late March because of the coronavirus. The current hope is that the vast majority of cinemas will be back in operation in late June, albeit with restricted capacity and other safety measures. The story.

+Meanwhile, Tyler Perry expects to restart production at his Atlanta studio in July. The multihyphenate plans to begin work on the second seasons of The Oval and Sistas at his Atlanta studios on July 8, with safety precautions in place for cast and crewmembers amid the COVID-19 crisis. BET has formally renewed both shows, which ranked as the top two first-year scripted series on cable this season. The story.

 Sony Warns Of Pandemic Impact

►Sony Pictures full-year profit rises to $628 million, but pandemic downturn looms. Sony said the pictures group's revenue increase was "primarily due to higher worldwide theatrical revenues, as the latest fiscal year benefitted from the strong performances of Spider-Man: Far From Home, Jumanji: The Next Level and Bad Boys for Life and higher licensing revenues for television productions."

--Sony estimated that the coronavirus reduced its consolidated operating income at the group level by $623 million (￥68 billion) over the full-year period. The conglomerate's electronic products unit, financial services division, and imaging hardware business bore the brunt of the pandemic's blow. The gaming, pictures and network services units were calculated to have gotten a minor benefit from the global coronavirus response, thanks to an uptick in content consumption. The story.

+Meanwhile: Japan's major movie theater circuits have begun a partial reopening after shuttering in mid-April after the Tokyo government declared a nation-wide national emergency in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Japan is home to the world's third-largest national box office, so any significant resumption of business there will represent a significant step towards getting the global theatrical sector back on track. More.

In other business news...

+Media and telecom sector taking $30 billion virus hit so far, analyst estimates. "The Cost of COVID-19 So Far? $30 billion of Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization in 2020." That is the title of a Tuesday report from Credit Suisse analyst Douglas Mitchelson. Mitchelson says earnings season confirmed that COVID-19 and social distancing "were accelerating the shift to streaming." The story.

►Warner Bros. understands "importance" of "big theatrical releases," AT&T CFO says. "We are interested in new ideas, whatever is best for the consumer, but we will continue to work with our partners," says John Stephens about the on-demand launch of Scoob! and calls HBO Max "a real bargain." The story.

+Studiocanal takes full control of Pillars of the Earth producer tandem. The deal, announced Tuesday by Studiocanal CEO Anna Marsh, sees the French group buy out the minority share in Tandem, controlled by partners Rola Bauer, Tim Halkin and Jonas Bauer. Studiocanal took a majority stake in the company in 2012, rebranding it StudiocanalTV/Tandem Productions. More.

+The Eros-STX merger has cleared a major hurdle. U.S, regulators have signed off on the merger of the Bollywood and Hollywood studios, according to a notice posted by the Federal Trade Commission. Because of the global nature of the merger, other regulatory authorities will need to weigh in, but the deal appears poised to consummate on time.

+SiriusXM CFO says satellite radio faces uncertain coronavirus impact. "Unemployment is stress. And that's got to have a knock-on effect for people spending money," David Frear told an investors conference. More.

►Josh Gad to star in Roland Emmerich's disaster thriller Moonfall. Lionsgate, which partnered with Emmerich on his last picture, the World War II actioner Midway, has North American rights to the project, which is eyeing a production start this fall. Penned by Emmerich and 2012 co-writer Harald Kloser and Spenser Cohen, Moonfall sees its plot go into action when the moon is knocked from its orbit by a mysterious force and is on a collision course with Earth. The story.

►How I'm Living Now: 50 Cent, actor, producer and rapper. A prolific producer and actor, currently doing both for ABC drama For Life, 50 Cent is used to keeping a busy schedule. So, after spending nearly two months in his New York City home, he naturally seems a bit restless. Speaking with THR, the rapper talks about how he’s spending his days (working out and an excessive reading list for his four Power spinoffs), modeling his career after Sylvester Stallone and why he’s thus far ignored the pull of quarantine-era Instagram Live battles. The interview.

 A Flurry Of TV Moves...

►HBO Max schedules second wave of original programming. Following its May 27 kickoff with originals like Anna Kendrick comedy Love Life, HBO Max will launch DC Universe import Doom Patrol, TBS transfer Search Party and Amy Schumer docuseries Expecting Amy, among others. The service has also acquired British scripted comedy Frayed and docuseries The Dog House as it bolsters its lineup. The story.

+Head of the Class reboot from Bill Lawrence in the works at HBO Max. WarnerMedia's forthcoming streaming service has picked up the new Head of the Class to pilot and ordered five additional scripts. Amy Pocha and Seth Cohen (Netflix's American Vandal) will co-write the pilot and serve as co-showrunners alongside Scrubs grads Steven Cragg and Brian Bradley. The story.

+DC Comics' Sweet Tooth is getting the Netflix treatment. The streamer on Tuesday handed out an eight-episode series order for the live-action drama series based on characters from DC imprint Vertigo's Sweet Tooth and produced by Team Downey’s Robert Downey Jr. and Susan Downey. The story.

+Kung Fu, Republic of Sarah ordered to series at The CW. The network, a joint venture between CBS TV Studios and Warner Bros. TV, continues to split its pickups evenly between the two studios as Republic of Sarah from the former while Kung Fu hails from the latter. The CW is expected to unveil its fall schedule on Thursday, when the network was poised to present its new and returning series to Madison Avenue ad buyers in its since-canceled upfront presentation. The story.

+Here's an unexpected TV move: Sketch comedy show Alternatino With Arturo Castro has a new home. The series will air on short-form streamer Quibi for its second season, moving from its former home of Comedy Central. It will become the second show to migrate directly from a linear network to Quibi, though the streamer has new versions of former MTV staples Punk'd and Singled Out and a revival of Comedy Central's Reno 911 among its offerings. The story.

+Room 104 is closing its doors. HBO said Tuesday that the previously announced fourth season will be the final one for the late-night, half-hour anthology series from Mark and Jay Duplass. The comedy's 12-episode final season will return Friday, July 24 at 11 p.m. More.

►Sofia Coppola is strengthening her relationship with Apple. The filmmaker will team with the tech behemoth's TV+ streaming service to develop a drama based on Edith Wharton's novel The Custom of the Country. Apple is eyeing it as a limited series. The project follows Coppola making On the Rocks, the first feature film under Apple's partnership with A24. The film starring Bill Murray and Rashida Jones is due for release later this year. The story.

+Netflix plots movie about the 1999 U.S. women’s soccer team. The streamer acquired the rights to Jere Longman’s book The Girls of Summer: The US Women’s Soccer Team and How It Changed The World. The project will follow the team — which included Mia Hamm, Briana Scurry, Kristine Lilly and Julie Foudy — and their journey to the Women’s World Cup at the Rose Bowl, where Brandi Chastain of the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team broke a 0-0 tie game to score the winning penalty kick to defeat China. More.



^What's behind the ratings slumps for remotely shot shows? Declining TV usage and maybe the end of the novelty for at-home production have driven shows like American Idol and The Voice to season lows recently, Rick Porter writes. The story.

►Broadway shutdown extended through Labor Day. The Broadway League on Tuesday confirmed that theaters will remain dark for an additional three months, though industry insiders anticipate the reopening date remaining in flux, possibly until early 2021. The story.

►ViacomCBS launches movies, limited series unit. Meghan Hooper White will oversee the division, which will mine the company's franchises to create 100 projects annually. More.

+Casting roundup and revolving door: Rachel Brosnahan is attached to star in Amblin Partners' The Switch, based on a novel of the same name... The photographer behind Beyonce's September 2018 Vogue cover, Tyler Mitchell, has signed with UTA... James McAvoy will voice star as Dream in Audible's adaptation of Sandman, the classic DC/Vertigo comic book written by Neil Gaiman...

► A slow reopening: Since Los Angeles' The Grove first opened its streets nearly 20 years ago, the only wheels that have rolled through have belonged to strollers, bikes and its famous trolley. On Saturday, the popular outdoor mall will, for the first time, allow cars to cruise through as part of a drive-thru charity event... NBCUniversal on Tuesday announced that Universal Studios Orlando would partially reopen later this week. The CityWalk portion will reopen on Thursday with select venues operating from 4 to 10 p.m. daily. All visitors will be required to wear masks and are subject to temperature checks on arrival, the company said...

 In a lawsuit filed two years ago, AEG was accused of anti-competitive behavior because the concert giant insisted in contracts that artists who sign up for AEG's Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival couldn't play other big events on the West Coast. On Tuesday, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a federal judge's dismissal of this case. The story.

►CineEurope cancels August event over coronavirus pandemic. Organizers of the European exhibitor convention, due to take place in Barcelona, Spain, from Aug. 3-6, made the announcement Tuesday. The story.

+Film Academy issues $2.5 million in grants, many to small film fests hit hard by pandemic. Grants ranging from $5,000 to $200,000 were awarded based on "current need," with priority given to those "most impacted by the current global crisis." More.

+Also: The Banff World Media Festival on Tuesday unveiled details for a virtual event due to COVID-19.

►Microbudget director preps first post-coronavirus film with sex scenes. Gary Terracino used a sexual harassment settlement to partially finance his film Waking Up Dead, which will shoot in Los Angeles in late June and "feature intimate love scenes with masks, latex gloves and 409." More.

►MGM Resorts unveils reopening plan for Vegas casinos, hotels. Expect no more buffet-style meals, plexiglass barriers and handwashing stations on the casino floor, physical distancing at slot machines and fewer players at card tables and digital room keys in hotels. The bottom line: The days of gambling like James Bond in a heated game while people crowd the card table to admire your winnings are a thing of a past. More.

►Hollywood production is on pause, but its inclusion efforts can't be. As social distancing measures keep up while racist incidents spike, the industry "must depict American society more realistically for more people," write New Amsterdam and Station 19 writers Y. Shireen Razack and Angela Harvey in a guest column for THR. The column.

In other news...

--Screen Media has picked up the North American rights to Roger Michell’s doctor-assisted suicide drama Blackbird, which stars Susan Sarandon, Kate Winslet, Mia Wasikowska, Sam Neill, Rainn Wilson and Bex Taylor-Klaus.

--Nick Cordero has awoken from his coma, according to his wife Amanda Kloots, who shared the news Tuesday on her Instagram Stories. The Broadway star has spent weeks in intensive care after complications caused by COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

--HLN has picked up two more seasons of Forensic Files II.

--DC Universe readership has jumped 35 percent during shutdown.

--Oprah Winfrey, who visited arenas last year on a wellness tour, is bringing the idea to living rooms while people are homebound due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

►TV review: Daniel Fienberg reviews the ABC special The Happy Days of Garry Marshall, writing "I don't know from awards here, but The Happy Days of Garry Marshall absolutely made me laugh, caused my heart to swell and, even if it didn't wring full-on tears from me, it generated a surge of emotion in the end." The review.

+TV ratings: The third-season finale of Fox's 911 scored a four-week high in total viewers and led Monday's adults 18-49 ratings in primetime, topping The Voice in key ad demographic. The NBC singing competition was down slightly week to week but still topped the night in viewers. The numbers.

What else we're reading...

--"Online education startup MasterClass is launching an ad blitz as people stay home during the pandemic" [Business Insider]

--"NBA owners, execs hopeful for return after call with Adam Silver, sources say" [ESPN]

--"James Murdoch’s firm is among first to invest in Morning Consult" [Bloomberg]

--"Carolyn Reidy, president and CEO of Simon & Schuster, dies at 71" [CNN Business]

Today's birthdays: Stevie Wonder, 70, Dennis Rodman, 59, Harvey Keitel, 81, Robert Pattinson, 34, Alison Goldfrapp, 54.