These days, with the world indoors, every living room is a stage. And, according to TV viewership stats, every living room is occupied. Ratings for news shows, both network and local, are at generation-high levels. ABC’s World News Tonight with David Muir reaches Cronkite-like levels of the population with 13.7 million nightly viewers. Even less straightforward news shows are seeing a bump — this past Sunday, the HBO talk show Last Week Tonight with John Oliver hit a season high in viewership, netting 1 million viewers when it aired, along with many more on demand. Oliver has been filming the show from home (which he calls the “white void”) and has focused on coronavirus coverage with his signature blend of comedy and deep-dive journalism.
But it’s not all about the news. Many people are looking for live forms of straight entertainment too, of which there’s no shortage. Brands, personalities and networks have quickly pivoted to video, as the saying goes, often enlisting talent from the worlds of film, television, music, gaming, food, comedy and beyond who, of course, don’t have much else to do. With production on hold across industries, audiences now have a direct line to stars in a whole new way.
Late last month, Elton John hosted the iHeart Living Room Concert for America which featured at-home performances by the likes of Alicia Keys, Camila Cabello and Shawn Mendes, along with the Backstreet Boys (delivering a multi-location rendition of “I Want It That Way”) and Mariah Carey. This past weekend, Lady Gaga, together with the World Health Organization and Global Citizen presented One World: Together at Home. The event was simultaneously broadcast on the big three networks the U.S. and introduced by the networks’ late-night hosts Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel. (All of whom are now filming their shows from home). A 79-song, four-hour-long album of the event, featuring Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Lizzo, Jennifer Lopez, Kacey Musgraves, and Stevie Wonder, is now available on streaming services.
Verizon has taken a smaller, more frequent approach to live engagement with #PayItForwardLIVE, a twice-weekly livestream on Twitter and Yahoo, “starring the biggest names in entertainment supporting small businesses.” Videos have included Lilly Singh and Dignitas esports star Emuhleet facing off in a video game, and Dave Matthews, performing a solo concert from his Seattle home. For those seeking something familiar, many media outlets have adapted regular content to at-home production. Bon Appétit’ test kitchen YouTube channel stars like Brad Leone and Claire Saffitz are now shooting versions of their popular cooking tutorials from their own kitchens. Saturday Night Live will be airing a second remote version of its show this weekend. (Tom Hanks “hosted” the first.)
There are lots of bite-sized pieces of live content on and around the internet as well. When she’s not tuning into DJ D-Nice’s Club Quarantine on Instagram, Michelle Obama is leading a 4-week Facebook Live read-along series for children in partnership with PBS KIDS and Penguin Random House. On Twitter Live, LeVar Burton of Reading Rainbow fame has gotten back into the reading for kids game, too. Jane Fonda recently joined TikTok and has been sharing videos that combine personal fitness and climate change activism. For small businesses like restaurants and fitness studios looking to connect and build their communities without brick and mortar, IGTV and Instagram Live have become a lifeline. Homespun content is, of course, familiar to the world of creators. But as low-production content becomes the norm for all media, it will be interesting to see whether audiences start to miss the gloss and glamour of sets, costumes, and the outside world.
