Tag Archives: Walt Disney Co

5 things to know before the stock market opens Wednesday, June 29

Here are the most important news items that investors need to start their trading day:

1. Stocks looking for stability

Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, June 28, 2022.

Source: NYSE

Equities markets’ attempt to build on last week’s momentum has so far fizzled this week. Futures were little changed Wednesday morning following Tuesday’s rout. The S&P 500 is on the verge of wrapping up its worst first half of a year since 1970. Earnings season is just around the corner, but companies such as Nike have already given warnings that persistent problems such as inflation and supply chain snarls are weighing on companies’ performance.

2. Fed’s Mester on a July rate hike

Cleveland Federal Reserve President and CEO Loretta Mester gives her keynote address at the 2014 Financial Stability Conference in Washington December 5, 2014.

Gary Cameron | Reuters

Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Loretta Mester, a voting member of the Fed’s policy-setting panel, said she may push for a bigger rate hike next month. “If conditions were exactly the way they were today going into that meeting — if the meeting were today — I would be advocating for 75, because I haven’t seen the kind of numbers on the inflation side that I need to see in order to think that we can go back to a 50 increase,” she said in an interview with CNBC’s Annette Weisbach. Investors will also be paying attention to comments Wednesday from Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, who is speaking at a European Central Bank forum.

3. Bed Bath & Beyond CEO leaving

Bed Bath & Beyond CEO Mark Tritton

Courtesy: Bed Bath & Beyond

Bed Bath & Beyond announced a leadership shakeup Wednesday morning, including the departure of CEO Mark Tritton, as the home goods retailer continues to struggle. Sue Gove, an independent director on the board, will act as interim chief executive. “We must deliver improved results,” she said in a news release. The company, which has faced pressure from activist investor Ryan Cohen, also reported quarterly results that sharply missed Wall Street’s expectations. Shares tumbled over 10% in premarket trading.

4. Tepid data out of China

For more than two years, overseas travelers have had to quarantine upon arrival in China because of Covid restrictions. Pictured here at Beijing International Airport on June 18, 2022, are passengers waiting to be taken to quarantine-designated destinations.

Leo Ramirez | Afp | Getty Images

Tight Covid restrictions and lockdowns in China took a toll on the nation’s economic growth during the second quarter, according to a new report. Various sectors suffered a slowdown, including transportation and services, according to the U.S.-based China Beige Book, which says it conducted more than 4,300 interviews in China during the three-month period. Hiring slowed down, as well, according to the study, and likely won’t pick up again until the Chinese government provides more stimulus this fall.

5. Disney extends Chapek’s deal

Bob Chapek, Disney CEO at the Boston College Chief Executives Club, November 15, 2021.

Charles Krupa | AP

Disney CEO Bob Chapek will be sticking around for at least a little bit longer as he pursues his goal of broad subscriber growth for Disney+. His contract was set to expire in February next year, but the board unanimously voted to extend his deal. Chapek has faced his fair share of controversy and tumult during his relatively short time in the top job. He faced criticism for his response to Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law, and the company’s share price is down 38% so far this year. Chapek also had a tough act to follow, having taken the reins from popular longtime CEO Bob Iger, who oversaw Disney’s acquisitions of the Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars brands.

— CNBC’s Samantha Subin, Elliot Smith, Melissa Repko, Evelyn Cheng and Sarah Whitten contributed to this report.

Sign up now for the CNBC Investing Club to follow Jim Cramer’s every stock move. Follow the broader market action like a pro on CNBC Pro.

Read original article here

Disney board votes to extend CEO Bob Chapek’s contract by three years

Bob Chapek, Disney

Jeff Gritchen | MediaNews Group | Orange County Register via Getty Images

Disney has extended CEO Bob Chapek’s contract for three more years, the company announced Tuesday.

Chapek’s contract was set to expire in February 2023, three years after he unexpectedly took the reins from Bob Iger. The board, which met Tuesday in Florida, voted unanimously to extend Chapek’s deal.

“Disney was dealt a tough hand by the pandemic, yet with Bob at the helm, our businesses — from parks to streaming — not only weathered the storm, but emerged in a position of strength,” said Susan Arnold, chairman of the board, in a statement Tuesday.

She added: “In this important time of growth and transformation, the Board is committed to keeping Disney on the successful path it is on today, and Bob’s leadership is key to achieving that goal. Bob is the right leader at the right time for The Walt Disney Company, and the Board has full confidence in him and his leadership team.”

Chapek has experienced his share of difficulties during his brief tenure. Disney’s stock, which was unchanged in after-hours trading, is down about 38% this year as of Tuesday’s close.

Chapek was also at the center of a dispute between Disney and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over comments made about the state’s HB 1557 law, dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. The feud led DeSantis to rally Republican legislators to repeal Disney’s Reedy Creek special district, which it has held for decades.

Earlier this month, Chapek made headlines for firing Peter Rice, Disney’s most senior television content executive. The board said at the time that Chapek had its full support.

The timing of Disney’s transition from Iger to Chapek came just weeks before the coronavirus pandemic forced different facets of the entertainment industry to shutter, including movie theaters and theme parks.

Without revenue from these divisions, Chapek rallied around the company’s fledgling streaming service Disney+. Success of shows like “The Mandalorian” had made the platform popular with consumers, and Chapek held fast to the company’s goal of reaching 230 million to 260 million Disney+ subscribers by 2024.

As of the end of Disney’s fiscal second quarter, the service had more than 137.7 million subscribers.

Chapek, 63, has worked for the Walt Disney Company for nearly 30 years and is its seventh CEO. Previously, he was the chairman of Disney’s parks, experiences and products division.

Read original article here

Disney, Apple and Amazon keep waiting as NFL considers Sunday Ticket offers

DK Metcalf, of the Seattle Seahawks, during a Meet & Greet with DIRECTV NFL SUNDAY TICKET subscribers at the DIRECTV NFL SUNDAY TICKET Lounge on Saturday Feb. 1, 2020, in Miami, FL.

Peter Barreras | AP

Disney, Apple and Amazon have all submitted bids to become the new broadcast rights owner of the National Football League’s out-of-market Sunday Ticket package. They’re just waiting to find out who wins.

The three companies submitted bids weeks ago, according to people familiar with the matter. The NFL continues to be in discussion with all three bidders as it decides which partner it will choose, said the people, who asked not to be named because the negotiations are private.

The NFL wants any buyer to pay more than $2 billion for the rights and a stake in NFL Media, which is being packaged with Sunday Ticket, three of the people said. The NFL’s mobile rights could be part of the package, as well, since its previous mobile agreement with Verizon has ended.

DirecTV paid $1.5 billion per year for Sunday Ticket for the existing rights, which end after the upcoming 2022-23 season. The NFL pushed for 100% increases for its primary game packages last year, but there’s little chance the league will get $3 billion for Sunday Ticket, which has historically lost money for DirecTV, sources said.

Many observers, including some of the bidders themselves, have expressed surprise a deal hasn’t gotten done by now. The delay has to do with the mix of assets and associated partnership conversations wrapped up in the deal talks, two of the people said. If the discussions centered around Sunday Ticket only, an agreement probably would have already been reached, one of the people said.

There’s no urgency on an announcement, as DirecTV already will offer Sunday Ticket for the coming season. Bidders would like to get a deal done sooner rather than later because they want enough time to alert consumers that the owner of Sunday Ticket rights will change.

Spokespeople for Amazon, Apple, Disney and the NFL declined to comment.

DirecTV’s role

DirecTV required all Sunday Ticket package owners to also become DirecTV customers. That condition will no longer apply for this new deal, opening up the package to many new subscribers who will no longer balk at spending hundreds of dollars on the package because they didn’t want DirecTV.

DirecTV isn’t bidding on the current rights package but is willing to cut a deal with the winning buyer, two of the people said. An agreement, if reached, could lessen the financial burden for the winning streaming platform.

DirecTV is interested in maintaining a relationship with bars and restaurants. Sunday Ticket is a staple in sports bars that use the game package to bring in fans of non-local games, most of whom have no other way to watch their favorite team. Sunday Ticket is also popular with sports gamblers who want to see multiple games at the same time.

DirecTV would also consider acting as a residential pass-through. Under such an agreement, it could transfer all revenue for Sunday Ticket to the rights owner but still offer it to customers. This would allow DirecTV to mitigate churn while reducing switching costs for consumers. It would also backstop any potential streaming latency or reliability issues that may come with broadcasting live football over broadband.

Still, it’s unclear whether the winning bidder would be interested in such a partnership. Building a commercial relationship may be enticing for Disney, Apple or Amazon, and the winner may want to be the direct contact for all Sunday Ticket subscribers.

AT&T spun out DirecTV last year. It is now a privately held independent company co-owned by AT&T and private equity firm TPG. When AT&T acquired DirecTV in 2015, Sunday Ticket rights were so important that the entire $49 billion deal was contingent on renewing a long-term contract with the NFL. But fewer than 2 million subscribers usually sign up for the package each year, making Sunday Ticket a money-loser for the satellite TV provider, which no longer is interested in bidding on the full rights, according to a person familiar with the matter.

A spokesperson for DirecTV declined to comment.

Various obstacles

While Amazon has already acquired exclusive Thursday Night Football rights and Disney’s ESPN owns Monday Night Football, Apple would represent a new global partner for the NFL – with the world’s largest corporate balance sheet. That’s appealing for the NFL because it potentially brings a new bidder to the table for future deal talks

Apple has showcased its ability to broadcast live sports this year by streaming Major League Baseball games, though some fans, especially older ones, have complained about the exclusive streaming package. Apple also agreed to stream Major League Soccer games in a 10-year deal announcement earlier this month. Amazon will be the first exclusive streaming provider for NFL games when it begins carrying Thursday Night Football this year.

Apple would like to own global rights for Sunday Ticket, two of the people said. The NFL hasn’t reached the phase in its discussions with Apple where it’s decided if it will give those to the company or sell them separately, one of the people said. DirecTV currently owns U.S. rights only.

It’s also unclear whether Apple or Amazon have interest in buying a minority stake in NFL Media, which includes cable networks NFL Network and RedZone, and digital site NFL.com. Both technology companies may have little interest in the legacy pay-TV business, which is hemorrhaging millions of subscribers each year. But if the league is tying Sunday Ticket to an NFL Media transaction, both companies could bite the bullet to get a deal done.

It’s also possible the league could ultimately decide to sell the stake in NFL Media separately, one of the people said.

A buyer will also have limited flexibility on pricing, according to people familiar with the matter.

When the NFL signed contracts with CBS and Fox, the deals included language that mandates Sunday Ticket have a premium price so as not to pull too many eyeballs away from the local market Sunday afternoon games acquired by the broadcast networks, three of the people said.

That means any owner of Sunday Ticket rights won’t be able to significantly lower the price on the out-of-market package, which typically costs about $300 per year. It also prevents an existing streaming service, such as ESPN+, to simply add in Sunday Ticket at little or no extra cost to boost subscribers.

WATCH: Commissioner Roger Goodell defends NFL’s handling of Washington Commanders

Read original article here

United Arab Emirates bans Pixar’s new Buzz Lightyear movie from theaters

Tim Allen and Tom Hanks voice Buzz Lightyear and Sheriff Woody in Pixar’s “Toy Story.”

Disney

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Disney Pixar’s animated movie “Lightyear” hits theaters this week and is expected to draw enthusiastic “Toy Story” fans from a number of countries around the world.  

Not in the United Arab Emirates, though. 

The UAE’s Media Regulatory Office announced Monday it would ban the movie’s release, based on what it said was “violation of the country’s media content standards,” the office wrote in a tweet. The feature film was scheduled for release in UAE theaters on Thursday.

The government body didn’t specify in its tweet which part of “Lightyear” violated its content standards, but Executive Director Rashid Khalfan Al Nuaimi told Reuters it was based on the the inclusion of homosexual characters. The movie features a same-sex relationship and brief kiss.

The decision received mixed reactions online, with some Twitter users praising the move.

“Thank you so much for saving our children,” one user, whose bio contained UAE flags, said in response to the tweet.

Others criticized the ban, with one user writing, “A country still living in the 1300s.” 

As of late Tuesday in Dubai, “Lightyear” was still advertised as premiering on Thursday on the UAE’s Vox Cinemas website. Disney did not immediately return request for comment from CNBC.

An inflatable Disney+ logo is pictured at a press event ahead of launching a streaming service in the Middle East and North Africa, at Dubai Opera in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, June 7, 2022.

Yousef Saba | Reuter

Homosexuality is criminalized in the UAE, as well as the rest of the Gulf countries and the majority of the Muslim world. According to entertainment news website Deadline Hollywood, “Lightyear” won’t be playing in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Egypt or Indonesia — the latter being the most populous Muslim country in the world with 274 million people. 

It also won’t be playing in Malaysia, according to a tweet by the country’s major movie theater chain GSC, which posted a photo of Pixar’s Buzz Lightyear character and the words, “No beyond” — a reference to the character’s catchphrase, “to infinity and beyond.”

The UAE ban comes despite an announcement last year that the country would no longer censor movies. That change was part of a broader raft of modernizing reforms including the decriminalization of premarital sex and a shift from the Islamic weekend (Friday-Saturday) to the Saturday-Sunday weekend, in a push to be more competitive globally and attract additional foreign investment and talent. 

Woman sunbathers sit along a beach in the Gulf emirate of Dubai on July 24, 2020, while behind is seen the Burj al-Arab hotel.

KARIM SAHIB | AFP via Getty Images

For years the UAE has cast itself as a modern, tolerant haven in an otherwise highly conservative region. The oil-rich desert sheikhdom is home to a 90% expat population, and allows drinking alcohol, wearing bikinis on public beaches, and other cultural elements often forbidden in Muslim countries.

Its nightclubs resemble those in Europe, it regularly hosts concerts of famous rappers and pop stars, and it even relaxed the penalties on some of its drug laws last year. In 2016, it established a Ministry of Tolerance.

Homosexuality, however, remains taboo in the country. When the U.S. Embassy in Abu Dhabi, the UAE’s capital, published an Instagram post featuring a rainbow and expressing its support for the LGBTQ+ community, it was met with backlash from users within the country.

This isn’t the first time the U.S. Embassy has celebrated LGBTQ+ rights in the UAE. Last year, it raised the Pride flag on its premises, marking the first time any diplomatic mission has flown a gay pride flag in the religiously conservative Arab Gulf. The British Embassy also raised a Pride flag last year.

Read original article here

Critics call blockbuster ‘worst’ in franchise

Still from Universal Studio’s “Jurassic World: Dominion”

NBCUniversal

“Jurassic World: Dominion” may score to top spot at the domestic box office this weekend, but lackluster reviews and word-of-mouth could stall its potential haul.

“Inevitably, ‘Jurassic World: Dominion’ will make a fortune worldwide, since these films always do,” wrote Robbie Collin in his review of the film for the Daily Telegraph. “But in credibility terms, it’s an extinction-level event.”

The third and final film in the new trilogy of “Jurassic Park” films is the worst reviewed of all six films in the franchise, currently holding a 36% rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes from 175 reviews.

While the Universal film is expected to tally around $125 million in ticket sales in the U.S. and Canada this weekend, poor audience reception could hamper its overall grosses in the coming weeks. Not to mention, the film faces steeper competition from other films like Disney and Marvel’s “Thor: Love and Thunder” in the coming weeks.

Directed by Colin Trevorrow, “Dominion” takes places four years after the destruction of Isla Nublar, the island that once housed the cloned prehistoric beasts. Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard reprised their roles as Owen Grady and Claire Dearing and are joined by “Jurassic Park” alums Sam Neill, Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum who return as Alan Grant, Ellie Sattler and Ian Malcom, respectively.

“Even with the original cast on board, there’s surprisingly little chemistry or humor, and the movie makes repeated pit stops to stress family values,” wrote Joshua Rothkopf in his review for Entertainment Weekly.

There’s wide consensus among critics that “Dominion” desperately wants to capture the nostalgia of “Jurassic Park,” but that the stunning visual effects fail to make up for its missteps in storytelling and character development.

Here’s what critics thought of “Jurassic World: Dominion,” which arrives in domestic theaters this Friday:

Ross Bonaime, Collider

“‘Dominion’ wants audiences to remember what they loved about the first film, yet without harnessing any of the joy or spectacle that made this series such a standout when it launched in 1993,” Bonaime wrote in his review for Collider.

“Instead, ‘Jurassic World: Dominion’ is an exhausting slog, a legacyquel that doesn’t seem to recognize where the power of that legacy comes from, and overarching idiocy that permeates every scene in the film,” he wrote.

Bonaime said the film attempts to pay homage to fans of the original “Jurassic Park” trilogy, which was released between 1993 and 2001, but fails to give its trio of Dern, Neill and Goldblum anything interesting to tackle.

“Instead of pitting this iconic trio amongst dinosaurs once more, ‘Dominion’ mostly faces them off against giant locusts, which is about as compelling as it sounds,” he wrote.

Read the full review from Collider.

Chris Pratt stars in Universal’s “Jurassic World: Dominion.”

Universal

Clarisse Loughrey, Independent

“‘Dominion’ is the final entry into a trilogy that, at no point, ever knew what it was doing,” Loughrey wrote in her review for Independent. “It’s been like watching a cook completely butcher a recipe, before manically pouring in spice after spice to try and fix it.”

Loughrey said there were “crumbs of ideas for better Jurassic films that no one ever had the boldness of vision to commit to.”

She pointed to the “Jurassic World” villain played by Vincent D’Onofrio who threatened to militarize velociraptors.

“Dinosaurs with guns? Cool, they should have done that,” she wrote.

Then she noted that “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” toyed with the idea of Dr. Henry Wu (B.D. Wong) splicing together different dinosaur genes to create new species.

“Mutant dinosaurs? Cool, they should have done that,” she wrote.

“Dominion” seems to follow the same pattern. The trailer teases that dinosaurs have been unleashed from captivity and now roam among us. However, the film spends little time on this concept, instead exploring larger-than-usual locusts destroying crops and a rescue operation after Maisie (Isabella Sermon), a human clone of the daughter of one of Jurassic Park’s original founders, is kidnapped.

“The only way to really enjoy ‘Dominion’ is to hold tight to those small sparks of imagination,” Loughrey wrote.

“There’s a car chase in the middle of Malta where a velociraptor gets absolutely decked by a metal pole,” she wrote. “Some genetic fiddling introduces the feathered and more scientifically accurate Therizinosaurus to the pack – a nightmarish creature with ‘Babadook’ claws. DeWanda Wise, as pilot Kayla Watts, slips so easily into the Han Solo-esque, reluctant hero role that it’s frustrating she’s been introduced so late in the trilogy.”

Read the full review from Independent.

Stephanie Zacharek, Time

“The point of entertainment is not to wear you down, but you’d never know it from watching ‘Jurassic World: Dominion,’ directed by Colin Trevorrow,” Zacharek wrote in her review for Time.

She noted that the film kicked off in a “reasonably promising fashion,” but quickly becomes “wearying” after the first hour rolls by.

“There’s so much plot, so many characters, so damn much Chris Pratt, that the dinosaurs end up taking a backseat,” Zacharek wrote. “They’re the forlorn underdogs of their own film.”

“With so many humans bumbling around, there’s barely room for dinosaurs,” she added. “Some highlights include a duo of apex predators going at it in a fight-to-the-death for universal superiority, though really, they’re tussling over one tiny deer carcass.”

A bright spot of the feature are newcomers Mamoudou Athie, who portrays a nerdy BioSyn genius called Ramsay Cole, and Kayla Watts, an “ornery-cool mercenary pilot played by DeWanda Wise.

Read the full review from Time.

DeWanda Wise and Laura Dern star in Universal’s “Jurassic World: Dominion.”

Universa

Germain Lussier, Gizmodo

“‘Jurassic World: Dominion’ is being billed as the ‘Conclusion of the Jurassic Era’ and that will undoubtedly be the case,” Lussier wrote in his review for Gizmodo. “Mostly because it proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that this once-beloved franchise should become extinct.”

Lussier said the film’s greatest sin is that it is “generally uninteresting and boring.”

Like other critics, Lussier praised the film’s visual effects, noting that “every second a dinosaur was on screen, I believed it was a dinosaur.” But he too said that wasn’t enough to save the film. He noted that as that the final chapter of the sequel trilogy, the film is “painfully familiar” as it seems to follow the same path as previous installments without elevating the material.

“The first ‘Jurassic Park’ worked because it was simple, relatable, and smart,” he wrote. “You wanted to be in that place, with those characters, and everything made sense.”

“Now, five sequels later, there hasn’t been one film that comes close to capturing that magic,” he added. “They’re all either too complicated or too similar. ‘Jurassic World: Dominion’ is both of those things, as well as being a narrative cesspool, making it, without a doubt, the worst Jurassic movie yet.”

Read the full review from Gizmodo.

Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC. NBCUniversal is the distributor of “Jurassic World: Dominion” and owns Rotten Tomatoes.

Read original article here

How Netflix’s password-sharing crackdown is likely to work

Netflix signage next to the Nasdaq MarketSite in New York, U.S., on Friday, Jan. 21, 2022.

Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Netflix surprised the world this week, saying it plans to finally address the rampant practice of password sharing.

More than 100 million households are using a shared password, Netflix said Tuesday, including 30 million in the U.S. and Canada.

But the video streamer doesn’t plan to simply freeze those shared accounts. Instead, the company will likely favor the setting of an extra fee for those accounts being used by multiple people outside of the home.

Netflix’s plan to capture that lost revenue would start with an alert being sent to account holders whose passwords are being used by other households.

The company has already started a test of this feature in Peru, Costa Rica and Chile. For accounts that are sharing a password across addresses, Netflix is charging an additional fee to add “sub accounts” for up to two people outside the home. The pricing is different per country — about $2.13 per month in Peru, $2.99 in Costa Rica, and $2.92 in Chile, based on current exchange rates.

The company also allows people who use a shared password to transfer their personalized profile information to either a new account or a sub account, allowing them to keep their viewing history and recommendations.

“If you’ve got a sister, let’s say, that’s living in a different city, you want to share Netflix with her, that’s great,” said Chief Operating Officer Greg Peters during the company’s earnings conference call. “We’re not trying to shut down that sharing, but we’re going to ask you to pay a bit more to be able to share with her and so that she gets the benefit and the value of the service, but we also get the revenue associated with that viewing.”

Netflix didn’t say how much revenue it expects to generate from implementing its sharing strategy worldwide, though Peters said he thought it would take about a year to put its sub account pricing into use globally.

A survey from research organization Time2Play suggested about 80% of Americans who use someone else’s password wouldn’t get their own new account if they couldn’t share the password. It didn’t survey how many current account payers would be willing to pay more to share with others.

Peters also suggested the company may still tweak pricing or further review its test strategy.

“It will take a while to work this out and to get that balance right,” he said. “And so just to set your expectations, my belief is that we’re going to go through a year or so of iterating and then deploying all of that so that we get that solution globally launched, including markets like the United States.”

Unanswered questions

Netflix’s plan is unprecedented. No major streamer has ever cracked down on password sharing before. Other owners of streaming services, such as Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, Comcast’s NBCUniversal and Paramount Global, will likely not set their own plans until after reviewing Netflix’s password-sharing reforms.

Some account holders will undoubtedly be surprised when they receive news from Netflix that their passwords are being shared. It’s also unclear how long Netflix would allow those watching on a shared account to maintain access if the primary account holder chooses not to pay the additional fee.

In addition, Netflix will have to tread lightly around defining password sharers to avoid wrongly tagging people as abusers, such as family members temporarily living away from home.

An unwillingness to act against this group of users would probably save millions of people from Netflix’s crackdown — at least to begin with.

“They’ll start with serial abusers,” said LightShed Partners media analyst Rich Greenfield. “If you have 15 people using your account, it’s pretty easy.”

The company also isn’t likely to want its employees mired in disputes about what classifies as a home account and what qualifies as a sub account. Contesting those definitions could get ugly for both staffers and customers, who have up until now seen Netflix as a best-in-class brand.

But “Netflix knows who you are,” said Greenfield, whether you’re using your own personalized profile or not.

Five years ago, Netflix actually encouraged password sharing. The company’s philosophy at the time was it simply wanted more eyeballs on its content, which in turn would create buzz and lead to actual subscriptions. That strategy seemed to pay off. Netflix subscriptions have grown every quarter for more 10 years — until last quarter.

In 2017, Netflix’s corporate account tweeted “Love is sharing a password.”

Now, the company would love it if you stopped doing so.

Disclosure: Comcast’s NBCUniversal is the parent company of CNBC.

WATCH: Netflix to test extra fee for password shares

Read original article here

Jim Cramer says he likes these 6 travel and leisure GARP stocks

CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Monday highlighted six stocks in the travel and leisure space that he believes are investable due to their affordable price and growth potential.

“With the [Federal Reserve] tightening [interest rates], the market prefers something called growth at a reasonable price, or GARP. … In other words, you want companies with better-than-average growth rates as long as their stocks have relatively cheap valuations,” the “Mad Money” host said. 

“Get used to the world according to GARP, okay? It’s the old, new way to invest,” he later added.

The Fed approved a 25 basis point interest rate hike in March, which is expected to be the first of several increases this year to tamp down soaring inflation. The minutes for the Fed’s March meeting, released April 6, signals that the Fed could raise interest rates by 50 basis points in upcoming meetings. Fed officials also plan to shrink the balance sheet by around $95 billion a month.

To come up with the list of investable travel and leisure stocks, Cramer first ran a screen for companies in the S&P 500 that can put up double-digit earnings growth this year and next year. Then, Cramer examined the companies’ price to earnings growth multiple, or PEG ratio. “This is a metric that tells you how much we’re willing to pay for a company’s growth rate. … When we’re talking about a reasonable valuation, anything at 1 or less would generally be considered cheap,” he said.

Using the two metrics to whittle down the list of companies, Cramer was left with 51 names. 

“We’ll be going through our favorites over the course of the week,” Cramer said. He added that he believes the travel and leisure stocks he picked will benefit from “the great reopening, even if the Fed really hits the brakes on the economy.”

Here are Cramer’s picks for the six “GARP-iest” travel and leisure companies:

  1. Expedia
  2. Booking Holdings
  3. Marriott International
  4. Disney
  5. Darden Restaurants
  6. Sysco 

Disclosure: Cramer’s Charitable Trust owns shares of Disney.

Sign up now for the CNBC Investing Club to follow Jim Cramer’s every move in the market.

Disclaimer

Questions for Cramer?
Call Cramer: 1-800-743-CNBC

Want to take a deep dive into Cramer’s world? Hit him up!
Mad Money Twitter – Jim Cramer Twitter – Facebook – Instagram

Questions, comments, suggestions for the “Mad Money” website? madcap@cnbc.com



Read original article here

2022 Bahrain Grand Prix was ESPN’s most-viewed since 1995

Formula One F1 – Bahrain Grand Prix – Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain – March 20, 2022 General view during the race.

Thaier Al-sudani | Reuters

Formula 1’s 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix lured more than 1 million U.S. viewers for Sunday’s season-opener —making it the most-viewed F1 race on ESPN since 1995.

ESPN said the Bahrain Grand Prix attracted an average of 1.3 million viewers in the U.S. and peaked at 1.5 million viewers around 12:30 p.m. to 12:45 p.m. ET, as the race entered its final and most dramatic laps. Viewership for the race is up compared with same race on the 2021 schedule, which saw an average 927,000 viewers, according to ESPN.

The network used metrics from measurement and analytics company Nielsen to report F1 viewership in the U.S. Sky Sports owns the rights to air F1 races in the U.K.

Scuderia Ferrari and Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc won the Grand Prix, earning him 26 points to start the season. Leclerc beat Spanish teammate Carlos Sainz, who finished second and earned 18 points for a team total of 44 points in the first weekend. Mercedes driver and Britain native Lewis Hamilton finished third and claimed 15 points.

This season, Hamilton seeks a record eighth F1 World Championship after falling in the last race of the 2021 season to Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands.

The 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix drew more cable viewers to ESPN than any other since the 1995 Brazilian Grand Prix, which averaged 1.74 million viewers, according to the network. It’s the most-viewed race on any Disney-owned network since F1 returned to ESPN in 2018.

F1 popularity and viewership have shot up in the U.S. since the behind-the-scenes Netflix series “Drive to Survive” debuted in March 2019. The series’ fourth season, recapping the 2021 season, became available to stream on Netflix on March 11.

The racing company set a new viewership record last season when it averaged 934,000 viewers per event on ESPN channels and the ABC network — up 54% compared with F1’s 2020 races. F1’s 2021 viewership included an average 1.2 million viewers for the U.S. Grand Prix in Austin, which aired on both ESPN and ABC.

The previous viewership record came in 1995 when F1 averaged 748,000 viewers per race.

In 2019, before the pandemic paused global sports and pushed more American viewers to F1, the sport averaged 672,000 viewers on ESPN channels. In 2018, after ESPN returned the races to its lineup, F1 races averaged 554,000 viewers on the network.

Formula One F1 – Bahrain Grand Prix – Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain – March 20, 2022 Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in action during the race

Thaier Al-sudani | Reuters

F1 adding more U.S. races

Liberty Media purchased F1 in 2016 for $4.4 billion, gaining access to a global fan base of over 400 million. It trades F1 as a tracking stock under the ticker “FWONA” on the Nasdaq. Tracking stocks are used by companies to gauge the success of a particular division in its portfolio.

Last month, Liberty reported the racing league generated $2.1 billion in 2021 revenue, up from $1.1 billion in 2020. And F1 should be in a position to increase revenue with a new race added to the North American slate.

In April 2021, F1 struck a 10-year deal to introduce a Miami Grand Prix, its second U.S. race on the schedule. The inaugural race in Miami is scheduled for May 10. Financials of that deal weren’t released, but CNBC reported motorsport insiders estimate the auto racing league netted between $17 million and $20 million per year under the pact.

F1 didn’t race in the U.S. from 2008 to 2011 but returned with the U.S. Grand Prix in Austin in 2012. The Miami Grand Prix brings four total races to North America as F1 also races in Canada and Mexico.

And F1 could expand in the U.S. again.

The racing company is reportedly seeking to return to Las Vegas, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. That could happen as soon as the 2023 season and would be the first time since 1982 that Las Vegas would host an F1 race.

F1 didn’t immediately return a CNBC request for comment on the possibility of a Las Vegas Grand Prix.

This season, F1 is scheduled to run 23 races, but long-time sports executive Chris Lencheski predicted that tally could expand to 25 or more with the addition of a Las Vegas race, another event in China, and a potential return to India and Africa.

Lencheski, the chairman of private equity consulting company Phoenicia, served as CEO of sports and entertainment marketing firm SKI & Company before selling the agency in 2008. The company formulated F1 sponsorships.

Lencheski said the Netflix series has boosted support for F1 races, and said two potential manufacturers — Audi and Porsche — are also stirring buzz.

“Both of them have global footprints across automotive performance. So if they come [to F1], that’s a tremendous amount of corporate investment that would allow Formula 1 to expand teams,” he said.

F1 has also expanded its partnership revenue in 2021, including a deal worth more than $100 million with blockchain platform Crypto.com.

F1’s next race – the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix –  is slated for Sunday, followed by the Australian Grand Prix on April 10.

Disclosure: Comcast owns CNBC’s parent NBCUniversal and Sky.

Read original article here

Disney+ will add cheaper plan—how other streaming services compare

On Friday, Disney+ announced that it will soon offer a cheaper ad-supported subscription plan. It’s the latest in a series of changes made by on-demand streaming service providers, including Netflix, Amazon Prime, HBO Max and Hulu.

Pricing for the new tier hasn’t been announced yet, but it’s assumed to be cheaper than Disney’s current ad-free offering, which costs $7.99 per month. There is no launch date announced, either, but Disney says it will be available later this year.

The move capitalizes on a growing market for cheaper ad-supported plans as Disney aims to grow its subscriber base of 118 million to better compete with Netflix, which has 222 million global subscribers, CNBC reported.

How the major streaming services compare

In the last year, many of the major on-demand providers have hiked prices and introduced new, ad-free tiers that you might not be aware of. Here’s how the subscription plans stack up:

  • Amazon Prime Video: On its own, Amazon’s streaming service is $8.99 per month, although you can get a student membership for $7.49 per month. The service is included with an Amazon Prime membership, which recently went up to $139 per year. 
  • Apple TV+: A monthly subscription is available for $4.99 per month after a free 7-day trial. You can also get three months free with the purchase of an Apple product. 
  • Disney+: Currently $7.99 per month, or $79.99 per year. You can also get the Disney+ bundle, which includes access to Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu, for $13.99 per month. The bundle is $19.99 per month with the ad-supported version of Hulu.
  • Discovery+: The ad-supported tier costs $4.99 per month and the ad-free tier costs $6.99 per month. There’s also a 7-day trial for new subscribers, as well as a discounted student plan, which costs $2.99 per month.  
  • HBO Max: An ad-supported tier priced at $9.99 per month was added last May. The ad-free version is $14.99 per month, with a 7-day free trial for new subscribers.
  • Hulu: Basic options include an ad-supported plan for $6.99 per month and an ad-free version for $12.99 per month. The first month is free for new subscribers for either plan. Hulu also offers a live TV plan, which includes access to ESPN+ and Disney+. The Live TV plan includes both ad-free or ad-supported versions, for $75.99 per month and $69.99 per month, respectively.
  • Netflix: Plans vary by the quality of the stream, with Basic, Standard and Premium plans costing $9.99 per month, $15.49 per month and $19.99 per month, respectively. The resolution options are 4K for Premium, 1080p for standard and 480p for Basic. These are new, recently raised prices, and will be effective by the end of March for current subscribers.
  • Peacock: There are three tiers: a free ad-supported plan, a Premium ad-supported plan with additional content for $4.99 per month and an ad-free Plus plan for $9.99 per month.
  • Paramount Plus: An ad-supported Essential plan was launched last summer for $4.99 per month, or $49.99 per year. The ad-free Premium version is $9.99 per month, or $99.99 per year. There’s also a Showtime add-on that adds monthly costs of $11.99 and $14.99, for the Essential and Premium plans, respectively. Both the Essential and Premium plans have a 7-day free trial period.

Sign up now: Get smarter about your money and career with our weekly newsletter

Don’t miss: Billionaire Ken Griffin softens his anti-crypto stance: ‘I haven’t been right on this call’

Disclosure: Peacock is the streaming service of NBCUniversal, parent company of CNBC.

Read original article here

Disney+ to launch cheaper ad-supported tier later this year

In this photo illustration the Disney+ logo seen displayed on a smartphone screen.

SOPA Images | LightRocket | Getty Images

Disney announced on Friday a new ad-supported tier for its Disney+ streaming service that will launch in the U.S. later this year.

Disney did not provide a launch date or price for the new tier. The new ad-supported tier will expand internationally in 2023.

The company said in a press release that the new offering would be “a building block” in achieving its goal of reaching 230 million to 260 million Disney+ subscribers by 2024.

Adding an advertising-support tier will allow Disney to boost average revenue per user — a metric that currently trails most rivals. Comcast Chief Executive Officer Brian Roberts said last quarter NBCUniversal’s Peacock had ARPU of nearly $10 per month per user, driven largely by advertising. The average revenue per user per month for Disney+ in the U.S. and Canada was $6.68 last quarter.

WarnerMedia’s HBO Max, Paramount Global’s Paramount+ and Discovery’s Discovery+ are among the streaming services that already offer advertising-supported streaming options.

Hulu, majority owned by Disney, also already offers an ad-supported product for $6.99 per month, compared with its ad-free service, priced at $12.99 per month. Disney is streamlining backend technology to enable selling advertising on all of its streaming products, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Disclosure: Comcast is the owner of CNBC parent company NBCUniversal.

Subscribe to CNBC on YouTube.

WATCH: The rise and fall of the Oscars and Emmys

Read original article here