Pink's Bottom Line on Media, Money and Sports
Apple TV+ and Ted Lasso, existing home sales and the NFL and unvaccinated players
In today’s newsletter, I discuss Apple TV+ and its popular show Ted Lasso, existing home sales and the NFL and unvaccinated players.
MEDIA: Apple TV+ and Ted Lasso
Season two of the critically acclaimed situation comedy Ted Lasso debuts tomorrow on the Apple TV+ video streaming service.
For those who haven’t seen Ted Lasso, it is a terrific sitcom about an American football coach who is brought to London to coach a professional soccer team there — the coach, played by Jason Sudeikis, knows next to nothing about soccer.
Apple TV+ has enjoyed some success in video streaming with original programming like Ted Lasso, but Netflix and others still invest far more money into original production than Apple.
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Interestingly, The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this week that Apple was looking at increasing its presence in Hollywood by leasing a potentially large production facility in the Los Angeles area.
That potential move by Apple shows that the company is looking to invest even more into original production probably so Apple TV+ can better compete with Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ and other video streaming services.
Most notably, Apple’s potentially bigger presence in Hollywood once again shows that the lines between big tech and big media are blurring.
MONEY: Existing Home Prices
The recent torrid growth in home prices continued unabated in June, according to a report released earlier today from the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
According to that report, the median price of an existing home jumped 23.4% in June compared to June of 2020.
Additionally, the number of sales of existing homes rose 1.4% in June compared to May, the first time time there’s been a monthly increase in the number of sales since January.
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Those sharply higher existing home prices reflect a tight inventory of homes available for sale, lower mortgage interest rates and fundamentally strong consumer demand for housing at the moment.
If inventories build and if mortgage rates creep higher, look for more muted price increases for existing homes in the coming months.
While the rate of those prices increases probably will slow, home prices still look like they will move higher well in to next year as fundamental consumer demand for housing shows no sign of slowing.
SPORTS: NFL and Vaccinations
The NFL appears to be taking a very tough stance on unvaccinated players in the league.
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Additionally, a team could forfeit the game if it can’t be rescheduled and is cancelled for an outbreak among unvaccinated players — and players from both teams would not be paid for the cancelled game in that case, either.
As such, this new policy likely will act as a catalyst for more players to get vaccinated, but it will also likely create even more friction between the league and the NFL players union.
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)