James Faris’ Post

ESPN Bet-operator PENN Entertainment, Inc is struggling to parlay its branding partnership with the self-proclaimed "Worldwide Leader in Sports" into profits. Sports bettors flocked to ESPN Bet when it launched six months ago today in mid-November. The sportsbook made up 8.1% of the market in its first month, which easily exceeded expectations. That early momentum has evaporated. ESPN Bet's market share in online-sports betting in March was 3.7%, which was actually up from a ghastly 2.5% in January, according to Bank of America. Just how much trouble is ESPN Bet in? Penn CEO Jay Snowden may have already shared the answer: "We're not doing this deal to be 4% or 5% market share players," Snowden said on the company's earnings call last August. "That's not going to be acceptable for us. It's not going to be acceptable for ESPN. And so you should assume if those are the ranges you're in, that's not going to work out long term." Check out my full story for Business Insider here: https://lnkd.in/eU8Ar7Hs

Warner Bros. Discovery's first-quarter earnings report missed analysts' estimates, but shares have risen 10% since results were released. Investors seem less worried about the company’s streaming business, which has struggled since Max relaunched about a year ago. Arguably the most encouraging sign in streaming for Warners is that direct-to-consumer advertising revenue surged 70% to $175 million, even as ad revenue on its networks side fell 11% in a tough ad market. That seems perplexing, as WBD’s streaming subscribers are up a modest 1% from last year and Max’s streaming viewership share isn’t much higher than it was last year, according to Nielsen data. There’s a simple explanation for WBD’s streaming ad growth, as I explain in my latest story for Business Insider: the advent of live sports on Max. However, if TNT loses the NBA, all of that progress may go up in smoke: https://lnkd.in/ePnKMTfs

Anyone looking for an affordable house now doesn't just need a realtor — they need a miracle. US homes got much more expensive in early 2024, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. The median existing single-family house cost $389,400 in the first quarter, up 5% from a year earlier. Prices rose in a staggering 93% of cities, the NAR found. In the previous three quarters, the percentage of markets with higher home values was 86%, 82%, and 58%, showing that homes on sale are an increasingly rare sight. However, property prices actually declined in 15 cities, as I outline in my latest story for Business Insider: https://lnkd.in/eDEfaBsk

Excited to have my story featured here! #NBA #NBC #TNT

In the last few months, I've done extensive reporting on the NBA's TV rights negotiations for Business Insider. Media analysts have explained to me why Warner Bros. Discovery and TNT can't afford to lose broadcast rights for the National Basketball Association (NBA) — and why NBCUniversal is a dark-horse candidate to watch. Those two plotlines are now coming to a head. The Wall Street Journal reported last night that #NBC is ramping up the pressure on #TNT and is ready to pay an average of $2.5 billion per year to get in the #NBA's next TV deal. The NBA is leaning toward choosing three partners, and considering that Disney's ESPN and Amazon are also reported to be locks, it stands to reason that either WBD/TNT or Comcast/NBC will be left out in the cold. Here's my latest story about the brilliant logic behind NBC's decision to strong-arm WBD during the NBA rights negotiations: https://lnkd.in/eXCHmH-W