Slam dunk for streaming media in acquiring NBA rights

Earlier this month, Head of US Media and Entertainment Research Jessica Reif Ehrlich hosted her annual Media in Montauk conference. As is typical, discussions at the conference were most focused on long-term trends and strategy. Women's sports got a lot of focus, especially as the WNBA has seen rising ratings and interest. Year-round offerings are particularly important for streaming networks looking to combat churn and the scheduling of the WNBA helps, given that the season starts when the NBA is coming to an end. Jessica believes cable is becoming less important to media companies as streaming becomes more critical. The oldest form of video, broadcast, remains key because of its wide reach. Jessica suggests box office receipts should pick up in the back half of '24 and normalize by '25 as the impact of strikes wanes. There are mixed signals in travel and entertainment demand, with small cracks in concert demand but there's a new park scheduled to open next year in Orlando and that should drive traffic. Targeted ads on streaming services remain a big opportunity.

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