1. STEPHEN COLBERT TO HOST 2017 EMMYS: CBS and the Television Academy have announced that late-night TV host Stephen Colbert will host the 69th annual Primetime Emmy Awards in September. Los Angeles Times: "The announcement continues a run of TV late night hosts acting as award show masters of ceremony. Last year’s Emmy Awards, which aired on ABC, were hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, and Kimmel will host the Academy Awards next month. Jimmy Fallon, of NBC’s 'Tonight Show,' hosted the Golden Globes earlier this month. 'Stephen is the ultimate master of ceremonies with award-winning creative talents, and as we’ve seen the past few months, he has a fearless passion for live television,' said CBS’ Jack Sussman in a statement. 'We look forward to honoring television’s best while entertaining audiences with the creative energy and sharp comedy of Stephen Colbert.' Colbert also hosted the 39th Kennedy Center honors on CBS last year, along with a live election night special on the network’s premium cable sibling Showtime, a show that ended up offering more consolation to supporters of Democratic candidate Hilary Clinton than in-the-moment comedy. The news of Colbert’s gig may also point to a continued exploration of political topics during awards telecasts." http://lat.ms/2jjdxDO
2. F.B.I. INVESTIGATING SUNDANCE CYBER ATTACK: The F.B.I. is investigating a cyber attack that brought down Sundance box-office systems during the festival's first weekend. A festival spokesperson stated that the attack wasn't directed toward one specific film. The Hollywood Reporter: "Although the festival was able to get its ticketing systems back online within an hour of the Saturday breach, multiple other denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks on Sundance’s IT infrastructure followed. A DDoS attack works by flooding the bandwidth or resources of a targeted server. Reached for comment, an FBI spokesperson says the agency is looking into the matter. At the time of the hack, the festival offered little in the way of explanation of what happened, but hinted that filmmakers at the annual celebration of independent cinema may have been the target. 'We have been subject to a cyberattack that has shut down our box office,' the festival tweeted. 'Our artist’s voices will be heard and the show will go on.' One producer of a Sundance documentary critical of the Russian government believes his film could have played a role in the attack. 'There's been speculation that our film may have sparked retribution,' Icarus consulting producer Doug Blush tells THR. “It does not paint a flattering picture of [president Vladimir] Putin.'" http://bit.ly/2kalfi5
3. INAUGURATION BREAKS LIVE STREAMING RECORDS: President Donald Trump's inauguration on Friday broke live streaming records, according to content host Akamai. TechCrunch: "According to Akamai, live video streaming of the inauguration peaked at 8.7 Tbps at 12:04 ET during the opening of President Trump’s speech, up from 7.9 Tbps at the start of the inaugural oath. This surpassed the previous record of 7.5 Tbps, which was achieved on Election Day (Nov. 8, 2016) during the evening. That’s not all that surprising of course. Trump’s inauguration was a mid-day event, meaning many were likely watching from computers at work or were live streaming the news via their mobile devices. Election Day live streams may have peaked in the evening, but many people were home and watching on their TVs during this time, which could have impacted the numbers. Akamai tries to give this new record some historical context by comparing it to the 2009 inauguration, which reached 1.1 Tbps, and the 2011 Royal Wedding, which hit 1.3 Tbps. However, looking at live video data from several years ago isn’t a viable comparison. ... However, when comparing the inauguration with other more recent events, it still came out on top. For example, the 2016 Euro soccer tournament final peaked at 7.3 Tbps and 3.3 million concurrent viewers. The Rio women’s team gymnastics final hit 4.5 Tbps and 1.5 million concurrent viewers. At its peak, 4.6 million concurrent viewers watched the inauguration." http://tcrn.ch/2jq0Apg
* LOCAL NEWS *
AUSTIN: The fifth annual Jmblya music festival will take place May 5 in Dallas and May 6 in Austin. Headliners of the two-city event include Chance the Rapper and Steve Aoki.
CHICAGO: The Ideal Home Show will take place Friday through Sunday at Navy Pier.
LOS ANGELES: For the first time, Fiji Water will serve as the official water partner of the 59th annual Grammy Awards. The ceremony will air live February 12 from the Staples Center on CBS.
The Costume Designers Guild has announced that Lily Collins will receive the annual Lacoste Spotlight Award at the 19th Costume Designers Guild Awards on February 21 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
For information on upcoming events in Los Angeles, visit Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/losangeles
MEMPHIS: Tennessee-based global events agency Leo Events has announced four staff promotions: Chelsea Blocker has been promoted to art director, Joan Cornett has been promoted to vice president of project management, Amy Manzanares has been promoted to senior vice president of events, and Chris Simmons has been promoted to vice president of the creative team.
MIAMI/SOUTH FLORIDA: The fourth annual FilmGate Interactive Creative Conference will take place February 3-5 at the University of Miami's School of Communications. The event will celebrate digital storytellers through screenings, exhibits, immersive art installations, virtual-reality portals, and more.
NEW YORK: The International Restaurant and Foodservice Show of New York will take place March 5-7 at the Javits Center. Presented by the New York State Restaurant Association, the trade show will have events including the 28th annual Pastry Chef of the Year competition.
For information on upcoming events in New York, visit Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/newyork
ORLANDO/CENTRAL FLORIDA: The Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort has named Aaron Weegar director of sales and Nick Anderson director of group sales.
Orlando-based Hard Rock International has announced plans to open its first hotel in Costa Rica. The all-inclusive Hard Rock Hotel Papagayo will open in early 2019.
SAN FRANCISCO: Dick Clark Productions has partnered with Twitter to live stream the red carpets of the 52nd Academy of Country Music Awards on April 2, the Billboard Music Awards on May 21, and the American Music Awards in November. Twitter also will live stream the seventh annual Streamy Awards in the fall.
TORONTO: Sugar Shack TO, presented in partnership with Waterfront Toronto, will take place Sugar Beach March 11-12. The event will feature two sugar shacks offering maple taffy, a food marketplace serving maple-infused treats, interactive ice activities and crafts for kids, and live music.
YOUR NEWS: What are you doing? Tell us: [email protected].
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With contributions from Jenny Berg in Chicago, Alesandra Dubin and Claire Hoffman in Los Angeles, Mitra Sorrells in Orlando, and Beth Kormanik, Michele Laufik, Jill Menze, and Ian Zelaya in New York.
BizBash Daily is the must-read digest of event industry news from BizBash.com.
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