S T U D I O 1 2 : Tiger King and Disney+ Register Massive Numbers

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First Things First

April 9, 2020

By Jess Zafarris

Netflix's Tiger King and Disney+ Register Massive Numbers

To no one's surprise, streaming services are scoring bonkers viewership numbers as people of all ages have flocked to TV to pass the time. Disney, which is facing unprecedented shutdowns of its parks, announced that it now has an astounding 50 million subscribers for its Disney+ streaming platform. To put that into perspective, Disney was hoping to land 60-90 million subscribers in the first five years. Disney has nearly hit that low end estimate in under five months.

Netflix has its own hit. Tiger King: Murder, Madness and Mayhem, the true-crime documentary series that landed in late March, has been viewed by 34.3 million Americans in its first 10 days on the service, according to figures from Nielsen's SVOD Content Ratings. The numbers are just shy of the record set by Stranger Things' third season, but still mark a milestone during the pandemic, which has boosted viewership across all streaming platforms.

More in TV and streaming news:

Millions of people said farewell to Modern Family last night as the ABC sitcom signs off after 11 years. Toyota, which has partnered with Modern Family throughout its 11-season run, created an animated goodbye spot that aired twice during the Modern Family one-hour retrospective that aired before the finale.
Data shows that black and Latino communities have been the hardest hit by COVID-19 deaths in many U.S. cities, so BET is working with the NAACP and United Way to educate and raise money for black communities in crisis with a televised fundraising event.
Amazon Studios has scooped up the rights to stream the movie My Spy, making the David Bautista action comedy the first film intended for a 2020 theatrical release that will instead debut on a subscription streaming service.
Several of spring's most anticipated series have been postponed due to COVID-19 shutdowns, but CBS All Access will still air the first five or six episodes of Season 4 of The Good Fight consecutively, starting Thursday, and then return for its second half after production resumes. Co-creators and showrunners Robert and Michelle King spoke with Adweek about the new season.

Burger King Waives Delivery Fees and Salutes Couch Potatriotism

The Home of the Whopper is now the "Stay Home of the Whopper." Burger King is the latest in a long line of brands to change their logo or tagline to encourage people to stay home for others. However, BK launched an entire campaign around its slogan, saluting those who partake in coach potatriotism to protect the vulnerable and essential workers who are saving lives and keeping the country running. Additionally Burger King is giving away 250,000 sandwiches to health care workers.

See it: The brand launched a spot encouraging everyone to stay home and do their part in the fight against coronavirus.

In other fast-food news:

McDonald's Same-Store March Sales Are Holding Up, Showing the Resilience of the Fast-Food Sector

McDonald's reported that U.S. comparable sales in March declined 13.4%, compared to a much larger drop for full-service restaurants. Quick service restaurants, whose businesses rely heavily on take-out, delivery and drive-thru, appear to be faring better than their casual dining counterparts that depend on sit-in dining.

Cooking Websites See a Traffic Boost as People Are Urged to Stay Home

Many people are finding themselves needing to cook their own dinners—maybe for the first time in a while, or the first time ever—so they're visiting food and cooking websites and engaging with related brands at a higher rate. As a result, publishers are also seeing ad buys shift toward food websites. We talked with New York Times food columnist Alison Roman and others from the sector about the trend.

Have you been following #AdweekTogether? On our daily live show that's broadcast on LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube and our website, we talk about the challenges the advertising and marketing world are facing today—and how we can overcome them, together. Watch the latest episode here.

3 Lessons Learned From Marketing Through Coronavirus so Far

In this Voice piece, OMD North America's chief strategy officer advises marketers to channel Maya Angelou's advice: "At the end of the day, people won't remember what you said or did. They will remember how you made them feel." That means cultivating the right tone and doing what you can to encourage and support consumers.

Best of the Rest: Today's Top News and Highlights

Ad of the Day: Nike Captures the Moment Again, Saluting All Those Staying Active in Quarantine

Staying fit indoors is challenging enough. Staying motivated can be far more difficult. Nike's latest ad hits home for anyone still trying to exercise with gyms closed, courts emptied and ballfields abandoned.

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