Pink's Bottom Line on Media, Money and Sports
Video streaming, consumer sentiment and the Australian Open
In today’s newsletter, I discuss video streaming services, consumer sentiment and the Australian Open tennis tournament.
MEDIA: Video Streaming
In its earnings report last week, Disney reported that its video streaming service Disney+ had 94.9 million subscribers as of January 2, a remarkable number considering that Disney+ launched in November of 2019.
Additionally, Disney’s other video streaming services also saw a jump in subscribers — ESPN+ grew to 12.1 million subscribers in January from 6.6 million about a year earlier and Hulu’s streaming only subscribers — not including those who also subscribe to its live television service — totaled 35.4 in January, up from 27.2 million from about a year ago.
Pink's Bottom Line
These Disney numbers again show just how much consumers are embracing video streaming services in general.
Discovery, which launched its own Discovery+ streaming service in the United States last month, reports its earnings a week from tomorrow, so we might get a glimpse into the initial subscriber numbers from that service.
In any case, I expect that this year will be the first year where we start to see the rate of subscriber growth overall among all streaming services start to decline.
That, in turn, could put pricing pressure on these services, which I believe will be an emerging story in the media world for the rest of this year.
MONEY: Consumer Sentiment
Consumer sentiment fell slightly this month compared to January, according to the monthly Consumer Sentiment Index survey released by the University of Michigan last week.
Notably, though, those surveyed who earned less than $75,000 a year accounted for the entire overall decline in sentiment, according to the Michigan survey.
Additionally, among those surveyed who were in the upper third of income earners, more than half said their personal finances had actually become better.
Pink's Bottom Line
The data reflects the notion that the current economic environment, which has been impacted greatly by the coronavirus pandemic, is disproportionately hurting lower income households in this country.
That also suggests that approval and implementation of the government’s $1.9 trillion fiscal stimulus package is critical as that package would give an additional $1400 in stimulus checks to those lower income households, which would help alleviate some of their financial concerns.
SPORTS: Australian Open
As the Australian Open enters its second week, two familiar players in the men’s draw — Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal — remain on a collision course to meet in the final of the first grand slam tennis tournament of the year.
Djokovic won his fourth round match, which earned him his 300th career grand slam victory, becoming the only the second player in history other than Roger Federer to reach that milestone.
Meanwhile, if Nadal wins the Australian Open, it would be his 21st career grand slam victory, which would break a tie with Federer most all time grand slam titles won by any men’s player.
Pink's Bottom Line
Djokovic suffered an abdominal injury earlier this week, so while he has won the Australian Open eight times in his career, he might be physically compromised in his chase to win the title again this year.
That’s why I now suspect that Nadal has a very good chance to win the tournament, and earn the 21st grand slam title of his career.
Such a victory would also strengthen the case for Nadal to be considered as the greatest men’s tennis player of all time.
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)