Pink's Bottom Line on Media, Money and Sports
Netflix earnings, consumer prices and the Green Bay Packers
In today’s newsletter, I discuss Netflix earnings, consumer prices and the Green Bay Packers.
MEDIA: Netflix Earnings
Netflix reports its quarterly earnings on Tuesday October 19, and a focus of many on Wall Street will be subscriber growth of the video streaming company.
If that subscriber growth beats estimates and if Netflix also issues an upbeat outlook about 2022, that could create some optimism among all companies with video streaming platforms.
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Additionally, Netflix will likely reveal viewership numbers on its wildly popular series Squid Game, which has the top Netflix show in many countries across the world in recent weeks.
The emergence of Squid Game, which was produced in South Korea, underscores the global strategy of Netflix — it produces and delivers programming globally, and it is able to develop hits from many different countries.
As such, next week’s earnings report also could shed some more light on that global strategy, which could be a major driver of future subscriber growth for Netflix.
MONEY: Consumer Prices
Consumer prices jumped in September, according to the government’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released earlier today.
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The CPI report shows that prices at the consumer level rose in the past year for a number of reasons including higher energy prices and higher prices for used cars and trucks.
Separate but related, the government today said that it will increase social security benefits to recipients by 5.9% next year, which also is reflection of inflation at the consumer level.
Today’s CPI report and the large bump in social security benefits for 2022 suggest that inflation is a real issue, and that it is more than just transitory.
SPORTS: Green Bay Packers
While the Green Bay Packers boast a 4-1 record and are in first place in the NFC North, the team might not be as good as its record suggests.
In the first five games of the season, the Packers have actually been outscored in total by their opponents 122-120.
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For some context, the Dallas Cowboys, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Los Angeles Rams, three other NFC teams with 4-1 records, have outscored their opponents by 53, 45 and 25 points, respectively, this season.
While Green Bay did lose its opening game of the year to the New Orleans Saints 38-3, which accounts for the team’s negative point differential this year, the Packers could easily be 2-3 this season — the team eked out wins over both the San Francisco 49ers and the Cincinnati Bengals this year.
Though the Packers will likely make the postseason largely because they play in a weak division, the team could struggle once it reaches the playoffs.
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)