German broadcasters are removing live audiences from their productions to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
RTL announced it would film Let’s Dance and Deutschland sucht den Superstar without studio audiences.
“This means that the broadcasting group is fulfilling its responsibility to protect the public and contributors from possible infection with the coronavirus, even without a specific ban,” said RTL.
NDR also said it would drop live audiences for its shows Anne Will and NDR Talk Show.
So far, no UK broadcasters have announced they are removing live audiences. Both the BBC’s Sport Relief on Friday and ITV’s Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway are expected to proceed as normal.
In the world of esports, the League of Legends European Championship at LEC Studio in Berlin will take place without a live audience.
“Due to the rapidly changing global impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, we have made the difficult decision to cancel the live audience and onsite press attendance at the LEC Studio in Berlin for the remainder of the 2020 Spring Split, including Finals,” said Alberto Guerrero, Riot Games’ head of European esports.
Copenhagen-based esports organisation Origen will not be travelling to the event in accordance with the Danish lockdown.
The League of Legends Championship Series in North America is expected to proceed without live audiences. US talk shows such as Jimmy Kimmel Live, The Late Late Show with James Corden and The Ellen DeGeneres Show have also gone crowd-free.
