A Viewer's Guide to the Future of Entertainment

The pandemic has changed Hollywood. Here are five shifts that will last

- By Lucas Shaw

In the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, things seemed to be going from bad to worse for Hollywood. Studios, already suffering from declining ticket sales, now faced theater and theme park closures, release delays, and production freezes. Television networks, battered by cord cutting, saw sporting events canceled or delayed, depriving them of their most valuable programming.

But the chaos also sharpened Hollywood’s attention, forcing it to focus on what consumers want. Streaming services, already a major priority, fast became the only way most people got their film and TV fixes. Netflix Inc. added 26 million customers in the first half of 2020, a record for new subscribers. And so media companies set aside legacy businesses and learned how to stream.

Warner Media LLC experimented with dropping TV episodes on its new HBO Max service all at once. Walt Disney Co. announced plans for more TV shows based on its Marvel and Star Wars properties, bolstering its approach of spacing out major releases to maximize Disney+ subscriptions. Universal, Warner Bros., and Disney all canceled plans to release major movies in theaters and put them online instead. News and sports divisions everywhere tailored programming to streaming audiences. And now Amazon.com Inc. is buying MGM.