Pink's Bottom Line on Media, Money and Sports

SiriusXM, life insurance and one of my favorite baseball stats

Thank you for all the kind words about the newsletter I’ve received from many of you in the past few days. I really appreciate it. Here’s today’s edition.

MEDIA: SiriusXM Strength

There’s some encouraging news on the satellite radio front. SiriusXM says it expects a net total of 700,000 additional subscribers in 2020, up from its previous estimate of 500,000 that it made at the end of July.

In a press release, SiriusXM CEO Jim Meyer says, “We continue to see steady recovery in the advertising market coupled with the financial results of a very healthy core subscription business.”

Pink's Bottom Line

While many parts of the media industry have struggled due to weaker advertising since the pandemic, it’s encouraging to hear from SiriusXM that they are seeing a steady recovery in the ad market.

Let’s see if this is a good indication of a broader pick-up in the overall ad market for other types of media, not just satellite radio.

MONEY: Life Insurance Index

Life insurance premiums mostly held steady this quarter compared to last quarter, according to the Life Insurance Index from Policygenius. (Policygenius is an online insurance marketplace.)

Term life insurance monthly premiums over the last six months increased the most for smokers and particularly among older men who smoked, according to the data from Policy Genius. The Policygenius press release says, “The increases are likely related to the higher COVID-19 fatality rates associated with seniors and people with lung issues.”

The release also says, “Holistically, however, COVID hasn’t had a significant impact on life insurance prices.”

Pink's Bottom Line

I’ll continue to monitor the impact of coronavirus on term life insurance rates to see if there is any significant change in how the pandemic is affecting policy prices.

For now, it doesn’t appear that the pandemic is having too great of an impact.

SPORTS: Run Differential

Run differential is one of my favorite stats to monitor in all of major league baseball.

Simply put, run differential is the total number of runs a team scores versus the total number of runs that same team allows. So, the higher the positive run differential, the better.

Last year, The Houston Astros and the Los Angeles Dodgers were the teams with the the two best run differentials — they also had the best regular season records in the majors in 2019.

(Note: Neither team won the World Series last year. The Dodgers lost in the divisional series in 2019, and the Astros lost in the World Series.)

Pink's Bottom Line

So far this year, the Dodgers have the best run differential in the National League and in all of baseball.

Cleveland and the Chicago White Sox are tied for the best differential in the American League, and they’re tied for the third best run differential in all of baseball.

I do think that means it’s likely that Los Angeles will play either Cleveland or the White Sox in this year’s World Series.

However, don't sleep on the San Diego Padres. They have the second best run differential in all of baseball and could represent the National League in the World Series instead of the Dodgers.

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Jeremy Pink is former CEO of Broadcast Sports International and a former CNBC executive in New York, London and Singapore. He currently serves as an advisor to companies in media, sports and financial tech.

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.