1. DAYTONA 500 POSTPONED DUE TO RAIN UNTIL MONDAY: For the first time in eight years, the Daytona 500 was postponed Sunday due to rain; it is set to resume this afternoon. Before the race was called, it was initially delayed twice with the first of those instances following an appearance by President Donald Trump. The presidential motorcade completed a ceremonial parade lap around the 2 1/2-mile track. ESPN: “The start already had been pushed back 13 minutes to accommodate Trump's trip. [Driver] Ricky Stenhouse Jr. eventually led the field to the green flag and was out front for the first 20 laps before heavier rain soaked a racing surface that takes hours to dry.”
2. FACEBOOK CANCELS CONFERENCE DUE TO CORONAVIRUS WORRIES: Shifting its wrath to the corporate front, coronavirus has prompted the cancellation of another event. Facebook has pulled the plug on an annual marketing conference that was slated to take place next month, March 9-12 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, due to concern about the coronavirus. It was expected to bring in 5,000 international attendees. Recode: “Facebook’s call to cancel its conference because of the virus is an amplified example of how coronavirus fears are impacting day-to-day business in the tech industry. Some tech companies and professionals in the Bay Area are instituting no-handshake policies in business meetings, wearing masks on public transportation, and asking people to work from home.”
3. DAYTIME EMMYS GIVEN NEW PLATFORM FROM TELEVISION ACADEMY: A new home has been found for the Daytime Emmys telecast by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences—the organization’s own site. NATAS is launching a streaming service that will allow fans to view the Daytime Emmys, as well as other award shows hosted by the Academy. The platform is slated to launch sometime before the end of March, several months before the 47th Daytime Emmy Awards, which will be handed down during ceremonies on June 12, 13, and 14 at the Pasadena Convention Center. Variety: “The Daytime Emmys used to be a broadcast mainstay, rotating between ABC, NBC, and CBS in its heyday .. .After that, HLN picked it up for two years, and Pop TV ran it in 2015—the last time it was on linear TV. Since then, the Daytime Emmys has run on a mix of YouTube, Facebook, Periscope, and something called KNEKT. Now, with the new over-the-top app, NATAS president and C.E.O. Adam Sharp said viewers would have a clear idea where to watch the Daytime Emmys and its other awards shows.”