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. Enjoy your weekend.
MEDIA
According to data from Nielsen, viewers last year watched more than 30 billion minutes of The Office on traditional television, and more than 57 billion minutes of the program on Netflix. While viewers clearly streamed The Office more than they watched it on traditional television, viewership minutes actually increased in 2020 compared to 2019 on traditional tv. As such, comedies like The Office should continue to command a premium price for their content whether they’re sold to a streaming service or to a traditional television network.
ViacomCBS announced earlier this week that it is planning to raise $3 billion in new stock offerings. (Click here to read the company’s press release about those offerings.) ViacomCBS said in that press release that it planned to use some of the proceeds from those offerings for “investments in streaming,” which likely means some of those investments would be for Paramount+, its new video streaming service. Paramount+ is competing against the likes of Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Peacock and others in a very crowded marketplace. It is yet another indication that competition between these video streaming services will become even more fierce in the next few years.
Univision, a large Spanish language media company, is launching its own video streaming service called PrendeTV next Monday. PrendeTV will feature a number of channels as well as an on-demand library of content — all content will be in Spanish. (Click here to read the original press announcement from Univision in January about PrendeTV.) The launch and development of PrendeTV is yet another indication of just how important video streaming has become to nearly all major media companies in the United States.
MONEY
Microsoft this week said it will allow some employees to return to work at its Redmond, Washington headquarters beginning Monday. (Click here to read the company’s memo on its plans.) Microsoft employees at its headquarters — with the exception of some essential workers — had been working from home since March of last year. Like other companies, Microsoft now looks to be embracing a hybrid workplace model, where employees might work from the office, the home or both. Here’s what that means.
The average price of a gallon of regular gasoline rose two cents last week to $2.88, according to AAA, the highest weekly average price since May 2019. Consumers could soon pay even more for a gallon of gas if oil prices continue their upward trend — oil prices have moved steadily higher since the beginning of the year. The economy also could be in danger of overheating in the coming months, which is possible as the pandemic recedes and as the government’s stimulus package begins. As such, that overheating could lead to inflation elsewhere at the consumer level, not just at the gas pump.
The government reported this week that first time jobless claims in this country fell to 684,000 for the week ending March 20 — that’s the lowest level of the pandemic era, though it’s still sharply higher than pre-pandemic levels. That said, the weekly jobless claims number appears to be trending lower, which is a good sign for an overall US economic recovery. As more people join or rejoin the workforce and as many Americans begin to receive government stimulus payments, that bodes well for consumer spending, which is critical to economic recovery.
SPORTS
On Saturday in the NBA, LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers suffered a high ankle sprain during a game with the Atlanta Hawks, which the Lakers say will keep James out of the line-up and off the court for now. It’s a tough time in Los Angeles as the Lakers are already playing without their other superstar, Anthony Davis, who has been sidelined for a number of games. Following that injury to James, the Lakers now are no longer the favorites to win the NBA title, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. The Brooklyn Nets are now the favorites to win the NBA title.
Sportsbooks project win totals for each team for the season — you can view those projections from FanDuel Sportsbook here. In the case of the Los Angeles Dodgers, that win total is 103.5, meaning that if you expect the Dodgers will win 104 or more games next season, you would bet the over for the win total — you would bet the under if you expect the Dodgers will win 103 or fewer games. At the other extreme, the expected win total for the Pittsburgh Pirates is 58.5, 45 wins fewer than the Dodgers are projected to have. This huge disparity in win total is yet another indication of the gulf between the top teams in baseball and those at the bottom.
According to FanDuel Sportsbook, Gonzaga remains the clear favorite to win the NCAA men’s basketball tournament followed by Baylor and Michigan. Based on the play in the first rounds of the tournament, Gonzaga does look like it is the team to beat. While my predictions so far about the tournament have been less than stellar, I do expect that Alabama, a two seed, and Loyola Chicago, an eight seed that beat Illinois, both will make some noise in the next couple of rounds.
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)