Weekly Recap: Pink's Bottom Line on Media, Money and Sports
Top items and takeaways from this week's newsletter
Here are the top items and takeaways from this week’s newsletter.
MEDIA
Box office revenues at the nation’s theaters and cinemas were very strong this weekend, according to data from Box Office Mojo. Theaters and cinemas grossed about $98 million last weekend, essentially on par with box office revenue from Memorial Day weekend, according to Box Office Mojo. The traditional movie business looks like it is bouncing back strongly, and that rebound, not surprisingly, is being led by big, blockbuster releases.
Global spending on apps surged in the first half of the year, according to estimates from Sensor Tower, an app data and analytics company. Sensor Tower projects that spending on apps increased 24.8% the first six months of this year compared to the same time period a year ago — that equates to $64.9 billion spent on apps in the first half of the year. In total, six video related apps — including Disney+ and Twitch in addition to TikTok and YouTube — ranked among the top ten highest grossing non-gaming apps in the first six months of this year, according to those Sensor Tower estimates. Here’s what it means.
Spending on video content grew sharply in 2020 as video streaming platforms grew in popularity. According to data from Purely Streamonomics, spending on video content grew 16.4% in 2020 compared to 2019 to more than $220 billion. As video streaming continues to grow in popularity, high quality content becomes even more of a priority for the video streaming platforms of big media. As such, look for spending on content to continue to grow sharply in the next few years for big media.
MONEY
A record number of travelers — 43.6 million, according to AAA — will be driving this July 4 holiday weekend, and they’ll be paying more at the pump during those road trips. According to AAA, the average price for a gallon gasoline in the United States was $3.12 as of yesterday, up three cents a gallon this week alone. For some context, the average price last July 4 holiday weekend stood at $2.17, according to AAA. The relentless climb of gas prices looks set to continue for much of the year, which will clearly impact the nation’s consumers.
Home prices in the United States increased sharply in April, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Index, a leading gauge of home prices in the country. According to the Case-Shiller Index released earlier this week, home prices increased 14.6% in April on an annual basis following a 13.3% year-on-year increase in March. Phoenix, San Diego and Seattle showed the heftiest annual price increases, according to Case-Shiller. This data is further evidence that the nation’s housing market remains hot, and that housing markets in cities in the western part of the country are even hotter.
In Sunday’s newsletter, I discussed office occupancy rates around the country using data from the Kastle Back to Work Barometer from Kastle Systems, a property technology security company. That newsletter item sparked a lot of interest among subscribers and, as Kastle updated its data this week, I revisited the topic. New data from Kastle this week shows that office occupancy in ten major cities in the US stands at 32%, down from 32.1% last week. If those occupancy rates do not improve dramatically by the end of the year, it could portend major financial issues for many large cities as those cities won’t be generating anywhere near the tax revenue they would have with fuller occupancy.
SPORTS
Euro 2020, the European soccer championship tournament followed by fans around the world, is currently in full swing. Earlier this week, England defeated German 2-0 to earn a birth in the quarterfinals of Euro 2020 against Ukraine tomorrow. Notably, it is the first time that England has defeated Germany in a knockout match in a major international tournament since 1966 when England won the World Cup. If England does win the European championship — particularly with a victory against Germany along the way — it will likely be considered one of the most important sporting achievements in history for England.
For those unfamiliar with Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels, he is one of the first two-way players in major league baseball in many years — that means he is both a position player and a pitcher. While being a two-way player is a remarkable feat unto itself, he’s currently having a great season — he leads the majors in home runs and he’s enjoying much success as a pitcher. Ohtani along with Vlad Guerrero Jr. of the Toronto Blue Jays and Fernando Tatis Jr. of the San Diego Padres are leading a new wave of exciting, young players in major league baseball. Baseball will need superstars like these three players in order to prop up the sagging popularity of the sport.
Roger Federer, 39, one of the greatest men’s tennis players of all time, won his second round match at Wimbledon earlier this week to become the oldest men’s player since 1975 to reach the third round of the tournament. While Federer holds the men’s record for the most Wimbledon titles in history with eight, he still is not expected to win the tournament this year. According to FanDuel Sportsbook, Federer is the third favorite to win Wimbledon this year behind word number two Daniil Medvedev and world number one Novak Djokovic who is the overwhelming favorite. If Federer does lose his third round match tomorrow, it just might be the last time we ever see him play at Wimbledon.
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)