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Media & Entertainment

Blackstone music deal can spare just a cent

3 Jun 2024

Steve Schwarzman’s firm is raising its bid for Hipgnosis Songs Fund by a penny. His private equity firm famously top-ticked the property market and the music deals have similar tunes. While the $1.6 bln price helps, high interest rates make it hard to strike the right note.

Korea’s music industry has more than a BTS problem

31 May 2024

Shares in entertainment firms like Hybe and SME have slumped along with CD sales since members of top K-pop group BTS left for military service. They reunite next year, but a sluggish economy and shaky China sales mean top labels can’t afford to assume business is bulletproof.

Live Nation breakup will leave Swifties unsated

24 May 2024

The $22 bln venue owner and ticketer is being sued by US watchdogs who link Live Nation’s grip on music concerts with sky-high ticket prices. Busting the company in two doesn’t guarantee lower fees. A separate Ticketmaster will probably do fine on its own.

Hollywood is first and last defense in AI war

21 May 2024

Scarlett Johansson is calling on regulators to protect individual rights after she accused Sam Altman’s ChatGPT of using her voice. The actor’s star wattage lends heft to the threat of legislation and litigation. If Tinseltown doesn’t succeed, though, it’s the wild west.

Snap’s AI push makes for a poor man’s Meta

20 May 2024

Boss Evan Spiegel is following the lead of his arch-rival, chasing the same advertisers that flock to Facebook and plowing money into machine learning. Meta stole Snap’s thunder on AI-powered glasses and more. Problem is, Spiegel doesn’t have the resources to turn the tables.

AMC is the worst, and best, of public markets

15 May 2024

The theater chain’s shares leapt 135% on the return of a key 'meme stock' cheerleader. It promptly swapped debt for bubbly equity. For aspiring CFOs, the idea that public markets can randomly spit out cheap capital is tempting. For everyone else, the trade is a loser.

Basketball deal will help settle TV score

7 May 2024

Comcast is trying to steal NBA rights from rival Warner Bros Discovery for its Peacock streamer and NBC network. The indebted owner of TNT and HBO is probably tempted to pass up the $2.5 bln annual cost. But with live sports so pivotal for viewership, it would be a big miss.

How investing in news can make sense

7 May 2024

The media industry has been struggling since the digital era and VC-led initiatives like BuzzFeed and Vice failed. Yet betting on independent outlets can reap decent financial rewards, Harlan Mandel, who runs a specialised impact fund, tells The Exchange podcast.

Comcast’s theme parks are an underrated attraction

29 Apr 2024

The cable conglomerate’s giant Epic Universe resort is finally due to open in 2025. Super Mario and Harry Potter are solid headliners, but the $240 bln enterprise’s valuation suggests investor skepticism about joining the ride. Mixing media and internet makes only so much magic.

TikTok’s fate matters only up to a point for Meta

24 Apr 2024

Under a new US law, owner ByteDance is likely to sell the app without its secret sauce, suffer a ban or win a court challenge. Mark Zuckerberg’s social-media colossus should capitalize on the first two scenarios. Even the third allows it to make decent headway against its rival.

Reliance’s efficiency may be New Delhi’s problem

23 Apr 2024

Completing the rollout of its 5G service helped Mukesh Ambani’s $240 bln oil-to-data conglomerate reduce capex by 7%. That’s good for shareholders. But Modi needs companies to boost spending to meet his administration’s deficit reduction goal without compromising on GDP growth.

Private credit paints a new scream for banks

22 Apr 2024

Lending against wealthy patrons’ art has been dominated by financial institutions. Sotheby’s $700 mln sale of bonds backed by such loans offers non-bank rivals a template to upend the status quo. A rebounding securitization market can feed this machine, if it fits a careful mold.

Swedes’ gaming split is far from a next-level fix

22 Apr 2024

Struggling $3 bln Embracer will divide itself into three discrete companies. Leveraging up the group’s board games arm and splitting out hit-and-miss blockbusters and steadier mobile games makes sense. But it’s unlikely to unlock value akin to the Swedish firm’s glory days.

Paramount’s sale cries out for intervention

19 Apr 2024

Shari Redstone is mulling a deal for control of the $8 bln media company with unclear upside for other shareholders. The math can just work, but a bid from Apollo would offer a safer payday. The choice is clear, even if independent investors can do nothing but press their case.

Netflix plots feel-good story in a horror festival

18 Apr 2024

The $260 bln streaming service’s ability to keep adding subscribers by cracking down on password-sharing is inspiring copycats. The “One Day” producer has other edges on laggards such as Disney and Paramount. A $7 bln cash pile also provides it with a chance to widen the lead.

UK music fund may walk off stage without encore

18 Apr 2024

Hipgnosis Songs Fund accepted $1.4 bln in cash from US rival Concord Chorus. The 32% premium pitches songs by Neil Young and Shakira at the lower end of their shrunken fair value. With higher-for-longer rates, it’s far from clear that its Blackstone-owned manager will pay more.

Berlusconis have narrow window for German TV bid

16 Apr 2024

The Italian clan’s broadcasting group MFE had banks lined up for a potential $4 bln offer for ProSiebenSat.1, Reuters reported. If they could replicate the savings from a past Spanish merger, the numbers work. The risk is the target’s shares keep rising, undermining the logic.

Motor-racing deal faces quick antitrust pitstop

11 Apr 2024

F1 owner Liberty Media is doubling down on sports broadcasting rights with its $4.5 bln buy of MotoGP’s parent. CVC’s 2006 attempt to own both racing series got an EU antitrust black flag. The rise of streaming channels means mogul John Malone will have an easier ride this time.