Pink's Bottom Line on Media, Money and Sports
Cable news viewership, home prices and NFL win total projections
In today’s newsletter, I discuss cable news viewership, home prices and NFL win total projections.
MEDIA: Cable News Viewership
Viewership of the country’s three major cable news networks — CNN, Fox News and MSNBC — fell this month compared to July of 2020, according to Nielsen data as reported by MediaPost. (Click here for a breakdown of those numbers from MediaPost.)
That decline in viewership, though, isn’t particularly surprising as the country was in the throes of two major news events — the pandemic and the presidential election — this time one year ago.
Pink's Bottom Line
Major, sustained news events — like the pandemic and the election — drive viewership of cable news networks.
That means it’s quite likely that it will take another sustained, major news event for those viewership numbers to reach levels from a year ago or even to rebound sharply from those levels.
That said, cable news networks still currently rank among the top ten most watched among all cable channels despite the decline in their viewership numbers this year.
They also remain very influential in shaping the news agenda in this country, so any talk of the imminent demise of cable news networks simply isn’t warranted.
MONEY: Home Prices
The relentless climb of home prices in this country shows no signs of slowing any time soon.
According to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller US National Home Price Index, a leading measure of home prices in this country, home prices rose 16.6% in May compared to a year ago.
May marks the 12th straight month that home prices have increased on an annual basis.
Pink's Bottom Line
The housing markets that saw the sharpest price increases once again were in the western part of the United States, according to that Case-Shiller report.
The housing market in Phoenix led the way with an increase in price of 25.9% in May followed by San Diego, up 24.7%, and Seattle, up 23.4%.
If mortgage interest rates remain low and if the pandemic-driven demand for homes remains strong, home prices should continue to climb higher, at least until the end of the year.
SPORTS: NFL Win Total Projections
With confirmation this week that Aaron Rodgers will indeed play quarterback for the Green Bay Packers this year, I looked up the latest win total projection for Green Bay, which now stands at ten, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
For those unfamiliar with win total projections, they are the number of victories that a sportsbook projects a given NFL team will have this season — in Green Bay’s case, it effectively means the team is projected to have a 10-7 record this season.
For some context, Kansas City’s win total projection is 12.5, which is the most of any NFL team, according to FanDuel.
Pink's Bottom Line
Also, if a team has a win total projection of 9.5 or more, that indicates that the team is likely to make the playoffs.
So, for the Packers, it looks like they are right on the borderline of whether or not they’re going to make the playoffs this season, according to their win total projections.
However, I think they a near lock to make the postseason with Rodgers now confirmed at quarterback, so that win total projection of ten for the Packers is probably a bit low.
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)