- Netflix and Apple made the decision after Amazon Studios announced it would no longer be participating in the music and tech festival
- Apple also announced Wednesday it’s scrapping premieres for original series Central Park and Home
- Twitter, Facebook, Vevo, Intel and Mashable had already said they wouldn’t attend the week-long festival
- A Change.org petition calling on South By Southwest organizers to cancel the event had more than 46,000 signatures Wednesday night
- However, city officials insist the event scheduled for March 13 – 22 will go ahead
- The U.S. death toll from coronavirus infections has risen to 11 as new cases emerged around New York City and Los Angeles
- The release of James Bond movie No Time To Die has been delayed from April to November
- The film industry could take a $5 billion hit due to the spread of Covid-19
Netflix and Apple are the latest companies to pull out of South By Southwest in Austin, Texas, over fears about the spread of the coronavirus.
Variety reported late Wednesday night that streaming giant Netflix is canceling five film screenings and a panel for its upcoming series #BlackExcellence.
The news came after tech giant Apple canceled scheduled premieres for its Apple TV Plus original documentary Beastie Boys Stories from director Spike Jonze as well for animated musical series Central Park and the docuseries Home.
Also scrapped is a discussion of Apple’s docuseries Little America with show creators Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon, according to Variety.
SXSW begins on March 13 and runs until March 22 and organizers insisted Wednesday that the event will go ahead despite the absence of some of the advertised contributors and exhibitors.
‘Right now there’s no evidence that closing South by Southwest or other activities is going to make this community safer. We’re constantly monitoring that situation,’ Mark Escott, the interim medical director and health authority for Austin Public Health, said at a press conference.
To date, there are 11 confirmed cases of people with coronavirus in the Lone Star State.
Netflix and Apple are just the latest in a string of big names to decide not to attend.
Late Tuesday, Amazon Studios announced it would no longer be participating and all events and activities planned for the Amazon brand would no longer take place.
Other companies to cancel over coronavirus include Twitter, Facebook, Intel, Vevo and Mashable.