Pink's Bottom Line on Media, Money and Sports
T-Mobile and television, home prices and the NFL moves to a 17-game season
In today’s newsletter, I discuss T-Mobile and television, surging home prices and the NFL’s move to a 17-game season.
MEDIA: T-Mobile and Television
T-Mobile announced Monday that its TVision Live service, a competitor to traditional cable, satellite and streaming television bundles, will wind down as of April 29, which will be just about five months after the company began offering the service.
(Click here to read T-Mobile’s original press release about TVision Live.)
In place of TVision Live, T-Mobile announced that it will now partner with both YouTube TV and Philo.
Pink's Bottom LineOver the past few years, consumers have cut the cord with the traditional cable and satellite television providers though some have moved to streaming services like YouTube TV, Sling TV and others instead.
Still, the overall trend is that consumers are moving away from bundled, linear television offerings in favor of on-demand streaming services like Netflix, Disney+ and others.
T-Mobile’s move to end its TVision Live service appears to be another sign of just how enduring that trend has become.
MONEY: US Home Prices
US home prices surged higher in January, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Index, one of the country’s top gauges of home prices.
According to that index, home prices gained 11.2% in January compared to January 2020, the biggest annual increase in nearly 15 years.
Additionally, that data showed that Phoenix posted the biggest annual increase home prices in January for any city, up 15.8%, followed by Seattle at 14.3% and San Diego at 14.2%.
Pink's Bottom LineIt appears that home prices are climbing for three key reasons.
First, mortgage rates are hovering at very low historic levels, which makes borrowing money for a new home very attractive.
Second, the coronavirus pandemic appears to have created demand for homes — particularly for those homes outside of major urban areas.
Third, the inventory of homes is also at very low levels in many areas, which in turn creates upward pressure on prices because demand for homes is often outstripping supply.
SPORTS: NFL’s 17-Game Season
The NFL announced today that teams will play a 17-game season, more than 40 years after the league moved to a 16-game season in 1978.
Teams will play those 17 games over a 18-week stretch, and the NFL’s preseason now will be three games instead of four.
Pink's Bottom LineWhile the NFL has not yet released the full schedule for this season, it did release the match-ups for that additional 17th game this year.
Among the notable games is Green Bay at Kansas City, featuring two of the top quarterbacks in league — Aaron Rodgers of Green Bay and Patrick Mahomes of Kansas City.
Importantly, the additional game also sets the table for NFL season records to be broken.
As such, look for new records for passing yards in a season and rushing yards in a season as teams will now play 17 games instead of 16.
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)