Weekly Recap: Pink's Bottom Line on Media, Money and Sports
Top items and takeaways from the week
Here are the top items and takeaways from this week’s newsletter. I hope everyone has a great weekend.
MEDIA
This week, AMC Entertainment Holdings, which owns and operates AMC Theaters, the world’s biggest movie chain, reported quarterly earnings that were weaker than what they reported in the third quarter of last year largely due to the impact of the coronavirus. However, I expect movie chains like AMC to adapt and to weather this storm.
While the late night television battles of the 1990s and early 2000s seem like a distant memory, the broadcast networks’ three late night shows are still competing for viewers every night. Here’s why these shows remain so influential and important.
According to Nielsen data, this year 56.9 million viewers tuned in to election coverage on television Tuesday night in primetime, down from 71.4 million who watched in 2016 — that’s about a 20% decline. That said, 56.9 million is still a huge number of viewers — that reflects the power and reach that the traditional television networks still maintain.
MONEY
There’s more evidence that, while travel in the United States has picked up recently, it is nowhere near its pre-pandemic levels. That most likely means a weak holiday travel season, which will place yet another drag on the travel industry’s performance and on the overall US economic recovery.
More money will be spent on this year’s election than any other election in history, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a non-partisan research group. A big chunk of that spending came in the form of small donations.
German automaker BMW reported quarterly results this week that reflected just how much of a negative impact the coronavirus pandemic had on the company’s sales particularly in Europe and in the United States.
SPORTS
If you follow college football, you’ve likely heard a lot about the top two quarterbacks in the country — Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence and Ohio State’s Justin Fields. However, there’s a lesser known quarterback, Trey Lance, from a less followed football program, North Dakota State, who is also generating a significant amount of interest ahead of next year’s NFL draft.
While most of the world focuses on the horse race that is the US presidential election between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, one of horse racing’s biggest events, the Breeders’ Cup, will take place this weekend. Notably, all three winners of this year’s Triple Crown races are participating in the Breeders’ Cup, so it should be a compelling race.
In a year when the coronavirus has upended virtually the entire professional sports calendar, the Masters Tournament, one of golf’s four major tournaments, also had to change its schedule. The Masters, which is normally played every year in April, begins next Thursday. Here’s why 2020 US Open champ Bryson DeChambeau will win the Masters next week and take home his second major trophy of the year.
Jeremy Pink currently serves as an advisor to companies in media and financial tech. He is 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. Jeremy 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)