Weekly Recap: Pink's Bottom Line on Media, Money and Sports
Top items and takeaways from this week’s newsletter
Here are the top items and takeaways from this week’s newsletter.
MEDIA
The Bachelorette, one of the country’s longest running reality television shows, this week began its 16th season on ABC. I expect this season’s ratings of The Bachelorette to become a bellwether for the popularity of reality shows in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic.
Disney, one of the country’s largest media companies, says it’s reorganizing some of its operations to focus more on its direct-to-consumer video streaming strategy. Expect other large media and tech companies to consider shifting their corporate focus to direct-to-consumer services even more than they already have.
In the land grab for new video streaming subscribers, NBC’s Peacock enjoyed a stellar third quarter, according to research from Kantar, a market research and consulting firm. The long-term winners in video streaming, though, likely will be those services that offer the most compelling content.
MONEY
The headline number of this week’s Consumer Price Index report looked relatively tame. However, if you look under the hood of that report, you’d find that used car prices surged, up 6.9% in September compared to August. Expect this trend of higher used car prices to continue for the foreseeable future.
Saving for retirement looks like it’s being pushed to the back burner for many Americans due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to a survey by FinanceBuzz, a personal finance information website and community. Here’s why that’s so troubling.
School closures due to the coronavirus will have a material impact on the future earnings of elementary and high school students, according to a Penn Wharton Budget Model report. For every month that a school is closed, it will cost a student dearly, according to that report.
SPORTS
We’re going to look back at this year’s French Open tennis tournament as the event where two teenagers emerged as stars of tennis’s next generation. For the women, it’s 19 year-old Iga Swiatek from Poland, and for the men, it’s Italy’s Jannik Sinner, also a 19-year old.
The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Miami Heat last Tuesday in Game 6 of the NBA Finals to win the team’s first NBA title in 10 years. While the Lakers are title favorites again next year, I suspect that the Golden State Warriors will be the Lakers’ biggest threat to their crown in 2021.
Tomorrow’s sports calendar will feature college football and the major league baseball playoffs, but the most intriguing event of the day will be a boxing match that should unify the world lightweight championship. Vasiliy Lomachenko, the WBA and WBO lightweight champion, faces American Teofimo Lopez, the IBF lightweight title holder, in Las Vegas in what I expect to be a narrow victory for Lomachenko.
Jeremy Pink is former CEO of private-equity backed Broadcast Sports International where he led 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. Jeremy currently serves as an advisor, consultant or board member to companies in New York, London, Hong Kong and Dubai in the media, technology, sports and financial tech sectors.
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)