Pink's Bottom Line on Media, Money and Sports

A new video streaming partnership, housing starts and the New York Yankees

In today’s newsletter, I discuss a new video streaming partnership, housing starts and the New York Yankees.

MEDIA: New Video Streaming Partnership

Two of the country’s biggest media companies are teaming up to offer a subscription video streaming service in Europe.

Comcast and ViacomCBS said today that they are partnering to create a subscription video service called SkyShowtime, which will could run in more than 20 countries in Europe.

SkyShowtime is slated to begin in 2022, and it will feature programming from the vast libraries of both Comcast and ViacomCBS.

Pink's Bottom Line

This partnership is notable as it’s between two companies that own two of the country’s four major broadcast networks — Comcast owns NBC, and Viacom CBS owns CBS.

This partnership also underscores the growing importance to big media of video streaming.

As such, look for more major partnerships in video streaming — among both big media and big tech — to emerge both domestically and globally in the next year.

MONEY: US Housing Starts

US housing starts slumped 7% in July compared to June, according to data released by the government earlier today.

Meanwhile, building permits, a gauge for future homebuilding, rose 2.5% in July compared to June.

Pink's Bottom Line

That decline in housing starts likely reflects a significant trend in the overall housing market at the moment — namely, that there are significant supply constraints to build those new homes despite significant demand.

Expect those supply constraints for at least the rest of the year, which could exacerbate the current overall shortage of housing available in the market.

Additionally, unless a meaningful amount of additional home supply hits the market, home prices are likely to move even higher from their already lofty levels.

SPORTS: New York Yankees

Don’t look now, but the New York Yankees are making a push to make baseball’s postseason and they are in a good position to claim one of the two American League Wildcard spots.

The Yankees began the season with high expectations and hopes to make the World Series, but the team didn’t fulfill those expectations through much of the early part of the season.

Pink's Bottom Line

Now, the Yankees are on a five-game winning streak through yesterday’s games, including a sweep of a doubleheader against the Boston Red Sox yesterday.

That said, at +1300, the Yankees are just the seventh favorite in all of baseball to win the World Series, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

Still, I like the Yankees to challenge the Chicago White Sox for the American League pennant, which means New York could make it to the World Series and fulfill those preseason expectations after all.

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Jeremy Pink is currently COO of Geniecast, a leading virtual content and experience company. He is the former CEO of private-equity backed Broadcast Sports International where he helped lead the company to a successful sale and exit during his tenure there. He is also a former CNBC television executive in New York, London and Singapore.

The information contained in this communication is strictly for general informational and entertainment purposes and is not meant to be construed as financial, investment, tax, or legal advice. This communication is not a solicitation to buy or sell any securities. I am not a financial advisor or offering professional advice of any kind. Users should not act upon the content or information found within this communication without first seeking professional advice appropriate for their individual situation. Decisions based on information contained in this communication are the sole responsibility of the user, and use of this communication and its contents constitutes an explicit understanding and acceptance of the foregoing disclaimers.

(Newsletter Editor: Karina Pink)