As already happened with the MWC 2020 in Barcelona, large companies are beginning to cancel their presentations at SXSW which is (in theory) scheduled to take place this March in Austin, Texas, because of the famous worldwide epidemic of the coronavirus.
For a week it turns this city into the American cultural capital. Music, film, technology and video games come together every year at the South By Southwest Festival. A multitude of events, conferences, presentations and concerts that will bring thousands of people to Austin from all over the world. Apple TV + had planned an event to present its new series and has canceled it.
Apple confirmed last night that it is withdrawing this year from SXSW due to fear of the coronavirus. The company had planned to debut three new Apple TV + originals at this year's festival, but as the spread of the virus, now stronger in the US, continues, it has canceled the event.
As published by the magazine Variety, Apple withdraws from SXSW. He joins other large companies that have already announced their withdrawal from this festival, such as Facebook, Amazon, Twitter, TikTok and Intel. Despite all these significant losses, at the moment the organizers of the SXSW festival do not plan to cancel it. For now, of course.
Austin Pubic Health's director of health authority, Mark Scott, has said that they continue to assess the development of the epidemic day by day, and that there is currently no evidence that closing mass arrivals to Austin is the safest thing to do. They continue to monitor the situation every day.
Apple had planned to premiere three series for Apple TV + at an event within SXSW. Spike Jonze's "Beastie Boys Story", the animated series "Central Park" and the documentary series "Home". The company was also planning a "Little America" talk show with creators Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon.