Pink's Bottom Line on Media, Money and Sports
Top items and takeaways of the week from the worlds of media, money and sports plus my NFL Pick of the Week
Here are the top items and takeaways of the week from the worlds of media, money and sports plus my NFL Pick of the Week.
MEDIA
Pink’s Bottom Line: The pandemic has dramatically impacted box office revenue, and the movie business won’t fully recover until 2025 at the earliest.
Pink’s Bottom Line: If live sports — and if the NFL in particular — migrate further from traditional linear television to digital platforms, linear television in the 2020s will begin to suffer the same fate that newspapers suffered in the first decade of this century.
Pink’s Bottom Line: The erosion of traditional linear television viewing will continue, forcing rapid closure or consolidation of lower-rated networks in the next 18 months.
MONEY
Pink’s Bottom Line: While wage growth fell well below Wall Street estimates and was welcome news for the financial markets as it indicates that the Fed might slow the pace of future interest rate hikes, it does mean that wages are growing much slower than inflation — and that consumers are still suffering a decline in real wages and spending power.
Auto sales likely slowed 8% in 2022 compared to a year earlier, and total sales are well below pre-pandemic levels of 2019.
Pink’s Bottom Line: Look for weaker auto sales in 2023 as consumers face soaring interest rates on auto loans.
Pink’s Bottom Line: If the winter is mild in Europe and North America, natural gas prices should remain near current levels, a welcome development in a broadly inflationary environment.
SPORTS
Pink’s Bottom Line: The NFL now will take a closer look at player safety — I expect that could lead to a reversion to a 16-game schedule but with an expanded playoff to recoup potentially lost revenue from a shorter regular season.
Pink’s Bottom Line: Look for Georgia to romp over TCU in a lopsided game without the drama or suspense of last weekend’s riveting semifinal games.
NFL Pick of the Week
Detroit Lions (+4.5) at Green Bay Packers
At the beginning of the year, I picked Detroit as one of my surprise teams to make the playoffs, and if the Lions beat the Packers Sunday, they will earn a berth in the postseason assuming that Seattle also loses its game this weekend.
I am sticking with the Lions — Detroit will win the game against Green Bay outright as an underdog.
Detroit’s high-powered offense will overwhelm Green Bay’s defense, and the Lions, who struggle against the run, will manage to control the strong rushing game of the Packers.
Season-to-Date Record
Outright Winners: 10-7
Against the Spread: 8-8-1
Jeremy Pink consults for media, sports and tech companies around the world. 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. He started his career as a sportswriter for two newspapers in Columbus, Ohio.
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)