Pink's Bottom Line on Media, Money and Sports

Video streaming, US manufacturing and the NFL Playoffs

In today’s newsletter, I discuss price hikes for video streaming services, the strength of the US manufacturing sector and two teams to watch in the NFL Playoffs.

MEDIA: Price Increases in Video Streaming

There’s more evidence of pricing power in the booming video streaming business as ESPN+, the sports streaming service, recently announced that it will increase the price of its annual subscription.

That move comes on the heels of a $1 a month price hike for ESPN+ late last summer. Additionally, a corporate cousin to ESPN+ — Disney+ — said a few weeks ago that it was also increasing its monthly subscription price.

Netflix increased its monthly subscription price this past October.

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As video streaming services become more popular and as more consumers cut the cord from traditional cable and satellite television, it appears that the video streaming services are confident that they can still maintain their subscriber base with these incremental price increases.

Today, Discovery formally launched its video streaming service — Discovery+ — for either $4.99 or $6.99 a month in the United States.

While I expect Discovery+ to be very successful, it is just the latest entrant in to what’s becoming a very crowded marketplace for video streaming services.

I expect that 2021 will be the year when we’ll start to see saturation and when we might see some push back from consumers for the first time on future price increases.

MONEY: Manufacturing Sector

The nation’s manufacturing sector remained strong in December, according to the IHS Markit US Manufacturing PMI, a monthly survey that examines manufacturing in the United States.

December PMI rose to 57.1 — a reading above 50 means that manufacturing is essentially expanding, not contracting — that’s up from 56.7 in November, according to the data.

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The US manufacturing sector appears to have held up well in the past year despite the negative impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.

If it can continue to exhibit strength in 2021 — particularly as the pandemic gets more under control — then the sector could act as a backbone to the nation’s economic recovery.

However, disruptions to manufacturing remain a concern for the foreseeable future as the sector will still have to weather a number of potential issues related to the pandemic for at least the first six to nine months of the year.

SPORTS: NFL Playoffs

With the NFL Playoffs starting in less than a week, the Chicago Bears and the Washington Football Team have the longest odds to win the Super Bowl among the playoff teams, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

Both teams are +8500 to win the league title, according to FanDuel. (Note: That means if a bettor wagered $100 on Chicago, for example, to win the Super Bowl and Chicago did win, that bettor would win $8500.)

Meanwhile, the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs remain the clear favorite to win the Super Bowl at +220, according to FanDuel.

Pink's Bottom Line

That said, perhaps the two teams playing the best football right now are the Buffalo Bills and the Baltimore Ravens, who both happen to be in the AFC with the Chiefs. (The Bills are +750 and the Ravens are +1100 to win the Super Bowl, according to FanDuel.)

Both the Bills and the Ravens have young quarterbacks — Josh Allen of Buffalo and Lamar Jackson of Baltimore — who have played exceptionally well in their last few games.

If either Allen or Jackson continues to play at his current level in the playoffs, it’s not hard to imagine either the Bills or the Ravens winning the AFC instead of the Chiefs.

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Jeremy Pink is COO of Geniecast, a leading virtual content and experience company, and he is also currently an advisor to companies in the media and financial tech sectors. Jeremy 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, and 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)