Pink's Bottom Line on Media, Money and Sports

ViacomCBS, existing home sales and the NCAA men's basketball tournament

In today’s newsletter, I discuss stock offerings from ViacomCBS, existing home sales and the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.

MEDIA: ViacomCBS Stock Offerings

The stock price of ViacomCBS fell 9% in trading today following an announcement last night from the company that it is planning to raise $3 billion in new stock offerings.

(Click here to read the company’s press release about those offerings.)

ViacomCBS said in that press release that it planned to use some of the proceeds from those offerings for “investments in streaming.”

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It appears that these stock offerings will allow Viacom to spend some of the money it is raising for production of content for its Paramount+ video streaming service that launched earlier this month

Paramount+ is competing against the likes of Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Peacock and others in a very crowded marketplace.

It is yet another indication that competition between these video streaming services will become even more fierce in the next few years.

MONEY: Existing Home Sales

Existing home sales fell 6.6% in February compared to January though sales actually increased 9.1% on a year-over-year basis, according to a report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

Additionally, the price of an existing home jumped 15.8% in February compared to February 2020, according to that report.

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Notably, the inventory of existing homes declined sharply — falling to a record low level and down more than 29.5% compared to a year ago, according to that NAR report.

It appears likely that tighter inventory led to the decline in sales as there simply might not have been enough product on the market for potential home buyers.

That said, sales did decline last month so it’s worth keeping a close eye on whether that’s the beginning of a down trend or whether that decline simply was a function of low inventory.

SPORTS: NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament

March Madness certainly lived up to its name in the opening rounds of this year’s NCAA men’s basketball tournament.

There were upsets galore but it was particularly brutal for the Big Ten as Illinois, a number one seed, suffered a shocking upset loss in the second round, and Ohio State and Iowa, both two seeds, also fell.

Michigan, another one seed from the Big Ten, remains standing as do the other one seeds, Gonzaga and Baylor, in a field that now has been whittled down to 16 teams in total.

Pink's Bottom Line

According to FanDuel Sportsbook, Gonzaga remains the clear favorite at +155 to win the tournament followed by Baylor at +400 and Michigan at +700.

Based on the play in the first rounds of the tournament, Gonzaga does look like it is the team to beat.

While my predictions so far about the tournament have been less than stellar, I do expect that Alabama, a two seed, and Loyola Chicago, an eight seed that beat Illinois, both will make some noise in the next couple of rounds.

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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)