People and Pop Culture
The Market
A measured look at this week's holdings
Buy
Gold for teamwork
NBCUniversal established a joint venture with LA 2028 on media and sponsorship sales for the Games from 2021 through ‘28. NBC’s commitment will help cover a large part of the $2.5 billion domestic partnership sales goal, and the media company gains on the upside. It’s the first time such a deal has been done, and one-stop shopping should make it easier for sponsors.
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Sell
Gone and forgotten
Tampa sports fans had a rough night on April 16. The Lightning, who had tied the NHL’s regular-season record with 62 wins, were swept out of the playoffs in a stunning defeat to the Blue Jackets, while the AL East-leading Rays returned home from a road trip and drew just 9,842 fans for a 4-2 win over Baltimore.
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Hold
’Vision quest
The NBA finished a regular season in which television ratings were down across each of the four national networks compared to last year, and the decline continued in the first week of the postseason, drops attributed partly to LeBron James and the Lakers missing the playoffs. But the regular-season declines were slight and there are still almost two months of postseason play remaining for a ratings turnaround.
