Media & Entertainment

The Exchange: Editorial lessons from Lionel Barber

16 Feb 2021

The former Financial Times editor discusses his views on journalism in the post-Trump, post-Brexit, post-print era with Rob Cox. He also shares some of the juicier stories from his memoir, “The Powerful and the Damned,” like the time he told off Blackstone’s Steve Schwarzman.

Vivendi’s $40 bln music spinoff is Bolloré shuffle

15 Feb 2021

The conglomerate may hand 60% of Taylor Swift’s label to investors. Eliminating a discount on the French group’s shares could unlock 7 bln euros of value. But controlling shareholder Vincent Bolloré benefits most: he gets the upside while retaining his grip on both parts.

Review: Bellingcat’s model upends journalism

12 Feb 2021

Eliot Higgins’ book describes how the open-source investigator used online images to reveal who downed a plane in Ukraine and poisoned a Russian defector in Britain. His donor-funded and volunteer-driven approach offers broader lessons for the newsgathering business.

Japanese animation draws rich cast of characters

10 Feb 2021

Sony beefed up in anime by paying $1.2 bln for AT&T’s Crunchyroll. Netflix is investing in the $24 bln market, HBO locked up Hayao Miyazaki’s coveted catalogue and movies like "Demon Slayer" are becoming box-office hits. IP-hungry companies could put valuations into fast motion.

SoftBank asset gains push focus to its firepower

8 Feb 2021

Markets have been kind to Masayoshi Son, helping the Japanese firm he leads log big gains from revaluations. Shares have hit a 20-year high. A bigger commitment to buybacks and detailed plans for its $42 bln-and-growing cash pile could provide a lift beyond the current frenzy.

Rupert Murdoch’s ESG flaws hurt more than ever

3 Feb 2021

Despite efforts to pare down and improve disclosure, $12 bln News Corp trades at a curiously deep discount, based on Breakingviews calculations. Online real estate and Dow Jones may be underappreciated. The media mogul’s bad governance and newspaper fetish also get in the way.

Spotify has bigger issues than slower growth

3 Feb 2021

Shares in the $60 bln Swedish music-streaming group fell after it warned a pandemic-inspired boost to subscribers and revenue may not last. More worrying for CEO Daniel Ek is that costs are still growing roughly as fast as sales. That’s out of tune with a puffed-up equity value.

Publicis turnaround remains a work in progress

3 Feb 2021

The 11 bln euro ad agency’s fourth-quarter revenue rose more than expected thanks to its U.S. arm. Cost cuts protected operating margins, too. But a lack of detail on data group Epsilon, acquired in 2019, makes it premature to salute Publicis’ desired digital pivot.

Alphabet risks losing sight of ABCs of search

2 Feb 2021

Google’s parent posted a 23% bump in quarterly revenue and growth recovered in its search-ads cash cow. But it’s losing share to Amazon, and competitors like Facebook are a growing threat. Rivals are also under political pressure but Google’s problems make it harder to ignore.

Vimeo earns its prime-time video slot

2 Feb 2021

The IAC-owned platform doubled its private market value to $6 bln in three months. That may rise further when Barry Diller’s group spins it off, given the boom in subscriptions sold to Starbucks and such. Vimeo could follow Slack as a target for business-focused tech giants.

Corona Capital: Universal Music

1 Feb 2021

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: A Universal Music IPO could close Vivendi’s conglomerate discount.

Nintendo could reach next level in two-player mode

1 Feb 2021

Millions of homebound gamers helped drive quarterly operating profit up 36% to $2 bln. Despite hit franchises like Super Mario, the Japanese company depends on its Switch console, whose sales are peaking. Teaming up with partner Tencent in mobile would unlock steadier earnings.

Tencent rally rests on froth and fundamentals

26 Jan 2021

A 30% share surge this year puts the Chinese web giant within reach of a $1 trln market capitalisation. Global stock euphoria is a factor, but Tencent’s video-games dominance has increased. Unlike rivals Ant and Alibaba, it has evaded the worst of regulatory crackdowns so far.

Corona Capital: Food delivery, Video games

25 Jan 2021

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Hedge fund Tiger Global gets a taste for food-delivery investments; and Jagex, developer of fantasy game “RuneScape,” is flipped to Carlyle less than a year after its last sale.

ByteDance casts shadow over rival Kuaishou’s IPO

25 Jan 2021

The Chinese video app is eyeing a valuation of up to $62 bln, over 30 times forecast EBITDA. Top sovereign funds have backed the premium multiple, about three times that of smaller peers. But a costly battle with TikTok-owner ByteDance looms large over its future prospects.

Cineworld’s new release is moral hazard disaster

22 Jan 2021

The $1.3 bln movie chain wants to give executives including CEO Mooky Greidinger shares which would be worth $142 mln if they recover to pre-Covid-19 levels. It’s a skewed reward for a company which owes its survival to creditors and governments. Only investors can stop it.

Australia commits unforced tennis error

22 Jan 2021

Foreign players are flying in for the Grand Slam tournament even as strict pandemic policies have left citizens struggling to get home. Stars like Novak Djokovic complaining about quarantine don’t help. Flimsy economic considerations may be distorting risk assessments.

China’s energy policy keeps blowing fuse

21 Jan 2021

Widespread electricity rationing last month slowed factory output, threatening another harsh winter for Chinese households. Banning Aussie coal didn’t help, but Beijing has stalled reforms to its grid monopoly, forcing a choice between emissions targets and keeping the lights on.

Netflix cash position puts M&A into frame

19 Jan 2021

The $220 bln streaming service expects free cash flow to break even in 2021 just as competition with Disney and others intensifies. Pressure to attract more subscribers with fresh programming keeps growing. That makes a studio or content acquisition more appealing than buybacks.

Corona Capital: Bond bonanza, Albertsons

12 Jan 2021

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: U.S. companies' bond issuance in 2020 hits records across the board; and America’s No. 3 grocer continues to take advantage of the shopping habits created by Covid-19 lockdowns.