Michael Nathanson: Last News

Netflix shares have come roaring out of the gate, rising 15% on a wave of Wall Street enthusiasm about its latest quarterly earnings report.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Retail giant Walmart is in talks to acquire Vizio, which sells a popular line of value-priced smart TVs that include an ad-supported free streaming service, in a deal worth more than $2 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported. The deal, if completed, could make Walmart a significant player in the connected-TV advertising business, competing with the likes of Roku, Amazon and Google/YouTube. Walmart and Vizio have declined to comment on the Journal report.

Tatiana Siegel 2024 can’t come fast enough. When the clock strikes midnight on Jan. 1, Hollywood will close the book on arguably the most tumultuous 12 months in a generation, with the town roiled by devastating strikes, the implosion of the superhero movie and deep divisions on everything from AI to Israel.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor MoffettNathanson, a leading Wall Street research outfit covering the media and communications sectors, is once again an independent entity. In December 2021, SVB Financial Group acquired New York-based MoffettNathanson, which was founded in 2013 by analysts Craig Moffett and Michael Nathanson. In March of this year, Silicon Valley Bank — part of SVB Financial Group — collapsed after a run on its assets, leading the parent company to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Wall Street reviews of Netflix’ latest earnings ranged from upbeat to more cautiously optimistic, with the latter taking hold today after a major jump in net new subscribers failed to ignite sales last quarter.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Shares of Disney slipped as much as 9% in trading Thursday after the media conglomerate reported earnings for the first three months of 2023. Disney’s earnings report showed progress on the cost-cutting front — with streaming losses narrowing for the quarter — but analysts cited a weak advertising outlook and uncertainty over when its streaming business can contribute to the bottom line. As of 11:30 a.m. ET, Disney’s stock price was $92.86/share, down 8.2%, and off its 52-week high of $126.48. Disney+ lost 4 million subscribers for the quarter ended April 1, including a loss of 300,000 in the U.S./Canada. But the company narrowed its streaming losses by $400 million, down 26% year over year, and Disney said it would remove content from Disney+ to cut costs while also expecting to raise prices on the ad-free Disney+ tier. In addition, CEO Bob Iger announced that the company would launch an integrated Disney+/Hulu “one-app experience” in the U.S. by the end of 2023 — indicating Disney’s desire to hold on to Hulu.

Disney shares slid into red numbers Thursday after jumping 5% earlier in the day on the news that activist investor Nelson Peltz has ended his proxy fight with the company.

The fate of ESPN, Disney’s prize asset and a reliable generator of cash flow even in uncertain times, remains the subject of vigorous debate in industry and finance circles.

Disney shares busted out of the starting gate, rising 8% in early trading on a wave of optimistic sentiment about Bob Iger’s return engagement as CEO.

Disney stock has fallen more than 11% today on double its normal trading volume, as investors recalibrate their expectations in light of a shaky quarterly earnings report.

Netflix to Warner Bros. Discovery scrambling to revise their pitch to shareholders. After spending tens of billions of dollars to ramp up programming for subscription-based streamers, media giants have discovered that the growth potential of the venture may be reaching its end. Consumers purchase only two, maybe three, of these services, and it’s getting harder for certain subscription companies to convince people to sign up for what they’re streaming. At the same time, customers are cutting the cable cord at a faster rate and imperiling a once lucrative revenue source for media conglomerates. Investors have taken note, causing shares of Disney, Netflix, Warner Bros. Discovery and others to get pummeled in a sector-wide sell-off.

Disney stock rose about 5% Thursday after posting a beat on earnings, profit, streaming subscriber growth and parks for its fiscal third quarter ended in June. It announced a new Disney+ ad-supported tier will launch on Dec. 8 for $7.99 – the current price of the ad-free service, which will jump to $10.99. That’s nice if you can get it.

Lionsgate is moving into the world of podcasts.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefBig name executives including Kevin Mayer, Uday Shankar and Punit Goenka are among the headline speakers confirmed at APOS, the Asian media and entertainment conference, in September.Having been held in various online formats during the COVID pandemic, APOS is to return as an in-person event this year. However, it shifts from its usual April slot to Sept.

Disney+ will generate $1.8 billion in U.S. ad revenue by 2025 from its forthcoming ad-supported streaming tier, with Netflix coming in at $1.2 billion, Wall Street analyst Michael Nathanson estimates in a new report.

Stark political divisions in the U.S. have caused a surge in TV ad spending, with primary races in Ohio, Pennsylvania and other key states pointing to a massive haul in the upcoming fall midterms.

Rita Ferra, president of ad sales for Disney, said the forthcoming ad-supported tier of Disney+ will have a less “robust” amount of ads compared with Hulu. That disparity, at least initially, will mainly be because about 65% of viewing on the streaming service is for movies, which don’t lend themselves to commercial interruption.

Paramount Global shares were down about 1% midway through the trading day after the company reported a mixed bag of first-quarter results.

Netflix stock crashed at the market opening today, down by 35%, shedding well over $50 billion in market value after its latest earnings and commentary late Tuesday spooked investors.

Netflix stock, which went into today’s Nasdaq session already down 16% in 2022 to date, is getting blitzed in mid-day trading.

MoffettNathanson LLC, the New York-based Wall Street research firm led by star financial analysts Craig Moffett and Michael Nathanson, has been acquired by SVB Financial, a holding based in Santa Clara and parent of Silicon Valley Bank.