Weekly Recap: Pink's Bottom Line on Media, Money and Sports
Top items and takeaways from this week's newsletter plus a bonus item
Here are the top items and takeaways from this week’s newsletter, and I also include one bonus item about major league baseball.
MEDIA
There could soon be a new sports video streaming service, according to a recent story in The New York Post. According to that story, Sinclair Broadcasting, which owns the television rights to a number of sports teams in many local markets around the country, is raising $250 million to develop such a service. The ability to watch live sports is a key reason that many consumers are keeping their current linear cable and satellite subscriptions as most top live sports run only on cable or satellite at the moment. Sinclair’s potential move to create a sports streaming service could change all of that.
Magna, a media intelligence and insight company, projects global advertising spending will grow more rapidly in 2021 than it projected just a few months ago. Magna now says global ad spend will increase 22% on an annual basis in 2021, up from its forecast in March of 6.4% year-on-year growth. Notably, Magna also says that the US market itself will see ad spending increase by 15% to a record level this year thanks in part to a projected 20% increase in digital ad spend. Meanwhile, ad spending on traditional linear media will increase in the US by only 3% this year, according to Magna. Here’s what all of that data means.
Nonprofit news organizations had bigger audiences in 2020 than they did in 2019, according to a recently released report from the Institute for Nonprofit News (INN) called The State of Nonprofit News. According to that INN report, traffic to nonprofit web properties increased 43% year-over-year in 2020, and newsletter distribution lists to those properties grew by 36%. Nonprofit news organizations serve a very useful purpose for consumers, as they often cover local issues or other matters that might not be covered by traditional commercial media. As such, it indeed encouraging that both viewership and revenue increased in 2020, though the reach of these nonprofit news sites still is a fraction of the reach of most commercial news sites.
MONEY
Gas prices continued their seemingly inexorable march upward, according to AAA. The price of a regular gallon of unleaded gasoline jumped three cents last week and now stands at $3.08, which means prices have climbed almost a dollar per gallon since the beginning of the year, according to AAA. If gas prices continue to move higher, it is yet another sign of inflationary pressure on the American consumer.
Retail sales fell in May compared to April, but they still increased sharply from a year ago, according to a government report released this week. Retail sales slipped 1.3% in May compared to April, but grew 28.1% compared to May 2020, according to that report. As consumer spending is the main engine for economic growth in this country, weaker retail sales numbers does not augur well for a sustained economic recovery. That said, May’s numbers could be transitory and the summer months might show more strength — that’s why the retail sales reports from the next few months will be crucial gauges of overall economic growth in this country.
Lumber prices, which soared for most of the year, began declining a few weeks ago though prices still remain at elevated levels. Lumber prices reached their peak in early May, continuing essentially a relentless climb upwards since the pandemic began. The main culprit behind those higher lumber prices appears to have been an increased demand among homebuilders. In any case, the price of lumber also could be a proxy for inflation as a whole in the country, suggesting that the recent price decline in lumber might mean inflation is transitory rather than long term.
SPORTS
As the saying goes, the most important ability is availability. In the NBA Playoffs, nothing could be truer. To wit, just this week, we learned that Kawhi Leonard of the Los Angeles Clippers will miss games due to an injury, and that Chris Paul of the Phoenix Suns reportedly will be out indefinitely due to coronavirus health and safety protocols. That follows a slew of other injuries this postseason that have felled superstars on a handful of other NBA teams. As the NBA Playoffs move to the conference finals and then the championship series, it looks like the team with the most healthy — or available players — just might be the team to win it all this year.
Rafael Nadal, the second ranked men’s tennis player in the world, said this week that he won’t play in the Olympics or at Wimbledon this year. Via his Twitter account, Nadal said, “It’s never an easy decision to take but after listening to my body and discuss it with my team I understand that it is the right decision.” Nadal’s decision to not play at Wimbledon opens the door a bit wider for world number one Novak Djokovic to win his third major of the year, following his victory last week at the French Open. Importantly, Djokovic also is now set up to have perhaps the best year in the history of men’s tennis.
Here’s a bonus item that didn’t appear in this week’s newsletter. In major league baseball, Vlad Guerrero of the Toronto Blue Jays is quietly putting together a spectacular season. Right now, he looks like could even win the Triple Crown — that means he would lead the league this year in home runs, runs batted in and batting average. Watch Guerrero for the rest of this season — his chase for the Triple Crown could become the biggest story in baseball in the second half of the year.
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)