1. E! ACQUIRES PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARDS: The People's Choice Awards will move from CBS to NBCUniversal-owned E! starting in 2018 for its 44th edition. The New York Times: "E! declined to comment on the price but the network was said to pay $8 million to $10 million to Procter & Gamble, which owned the show, according to a person briefed on the deal. Though few networks own awards shows—a notable exception is MTV—E!, best known for reality-TV fare like 'Keeping Up With the Kardashians,' had been considering starting its own event for some time. But eventually 'the notion of starting something from scratch, given the plethora of awards shows out there, was quite daunting,' said Adam Stotsky, president of E! E! is making the move at anxious time for cable networks as viewership drops and the number of cable subscribers continues to dwindle. Many cable network executives have decided that big, bold plays are necessary to navigate an uncertain future. MTV, for instance, is overhauling its annual movie awards to include television shows this year. Live awards shows remain one of the few programs that still guarantee a big audience, and, despite some ratings volatility, advertisers have stayed loyal. E! executives said that buzz can be created around the People’s Choice Awards in several ways, including on social media and by integrating advertisers into the event. 'We live in a time-shifted world where the value of live events has never been greater,' Bonnie Hammer, the chairwoman of cable entertainment at NBC Universal, E!’s parent company, said in a statement. The weight of the company can help promote the show to 'take this terrific franchise to a whole new level,' she said." http://nyti.ms/2p6LnMj
2. ADDITIONAL COACHELLA SPACE WILL MAKE ROOM FOR NEW ACTIVATIONS: While glowing balloons and a neon Ferris wheel are Coachella staples, this year an additional 20 acres of festival space will make room for new activations including a punk rock tent and an Antarctic dome. The Desert Sun: "With the additional space, Goldenvoice president and CEO Paul Tollett hopes to ease some of the overcrowding of the past few years even with more people on the field. But he's also activating new tents and structures to continue Coachella’s steady evolution, as Tollett, art curator Paul Clemente and food curator Nic Adler revealed last week in an exclusive Desert Sun interview in a house on the festival grounds. They're adding a giant wood-floor building named after the world’s largest desert, the icy Antarctica. 'We built a custom, 120-foot diameter dome,' said Clemente. 'It’s 60-feet tall. It’s going to seat about 500 people and we have a 10-minute show that’s going to be running a lot. It’s an air-conditioned dome, so people will go in there, lay back and have an incredible A/V experience.' The Antarctic will be located south of the Ferris wheel on the border of camping lot 8, making it accessible to campers late at night. A live action narrative video with natural photography and computer-generated imagery will be projected on the surface of the dome with music amplified on what Clemente calls a one-of-a-kind sound system. ... Goldenvoice also is creating a little neighborhood for many of its food stations and merchandise shops. They’re building a boardwalk in the Terrace, just east of the Ferris wheel, in which many of the fine cuisine vendors that were positioned in the VIP area last year will be placed in semi-permanent stalls. The boardwalk will have a mid-century modern look with decks, a record store and 1950s supermarket-type facades with blade-like signs advertising each vendor. Tollett also is adding a tent for a kind of music that Goldenvoice has always promoted, even though it has never ascended to the pop heights of EDM, hip-hop or classic rock. A new Sonora tent—near the Ferris wheel and the Antarctica—will feature punk, indie and garage rock by mostly emerging bands, including Spanish-language artists." http://desert.sn/2o9JbpG
3. MTV REVEALS NOMINEES AND RULE CHANGES FOR INAUGURAL MOVIE AND TV AWARDS: MTV has announced the nominees and rule changes for its first-ever MTV Movie & TV Awards, which will air live May 7. Billboard: "Different from the original awards show, the new format will now include separate categories for TV in addition to film. Another rule change sees actors in both mediums competing against one another for the same awards. The network has also broken down the gender wall with exclusively non-gendered categories—meaning Emma Watson will go up against Hugh Jackman for top performance honors. Five new categories make this year's telecast, as MTV hopes to highlight cultural relevancy in today's society. Aside from the explanatory categories Best Host, Best Reality Competition, and Tearjerker, there will also be awards for Best American Story (awarded to the show or film that shows America at its best, open and diverse) and Best Fight Against the System (formerly known as Best Fight—awarded to the film or show whose characters best exemplify fighting against a system that tries to keep them down). Jordan Peele's thought-provoking horror film Get Out leads the pack with six nominations, including the top prize Movie of the Year (presented by Toyota C-HR). Its leading star, Daniel Kaluuya, receives his first-ever major U.S. award show nods for Best Actor in a Movie, Next Generation, and Best Duo (with his co-star, Lil Rel Howery)." http://bit.ly/2oeos4q
* LOCAL NEWS *
AUSTIN: This year's Austin Food & Wine Festival will take place April 28-30 at Auditorium Shores and Fair Market. Event sponsors include Barilla, Toyota, and Stella Artois.
CHICAGO: JW Marriott Chicago has appointed Ken Craven director of event planning and Justin Wilkinson destination sales executive.
LOS ANGELES: The Simon Wiesenthal Center held its annual National Tribute Dinner honoring Universal’s Ron Meyer at the Beverly Hilton on April 5.
For information on upcoming events in Los Angeles, visit Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/losangeles
NEW YORK: Tupac Shakur-theme pop-up restaurant Powamekka Cafe will take over Sweet Chick in the Lower East Side this Friday through Sunday. Eater: http://bit.ly/2oFKYAT
Monarch Rooftop & Indoor Lounge's Easter Egg Decorating Contest & Hunt will take place Sunday.
Investigation Discovery's second annual fan convention IDCon will take place May 20 at the Altman Building in Chelsea.
The 15th annual Big Apple Barbecue Block Party will take place June 10-11 at Madison Square Park. The event will feature food from pitmasters from restaurants including Blue Smoke and Hometown BBQ in New York, Martins Bar-B-Que in Nashville, and Baker's Ribs in Dallas.
For information on upcoming events in New York, visit Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/newyork
TORONTO: Toronto Taste will take place June 4 at Corus Quay. The event, which raises funds for Second Harvest, will offer dishes from more than 60 of the city's top chefs.
WASHINGTON, D.C.: French wine bar Primrose is slated to open Sunday in Brookland. Washington City Paper: http://bit.ly/2ogecZl
YOUR NEWS: What are you doing? Tell us: [email protected].
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With contributions from 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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