People and Pop Culture
The Market
A measured look at this week’s holdings
New Balance
Buy
Balance of power
New Balance’s longtime ad campaign was “Endorsed By No One” and the brand was a non-factor in basketball. Then it signed perennial All-Star Kawhi Leonard in 2018 and last week it announced a new deal to be an official marketing partner with the NBA. Leonard’s star power and the likelihood he’ll get plenty of air time during the upcoming playoffs should be a big boost to the company.
Sell
Sin bin
Ever since Sinclair agreed to buy the Fox Sports-branded RSNs last year, it has been dropped by Dish Network and, as of last week, YouTube TV. The local channel that it launched last week with the Cubs still hasn’t been able to work out a deal with Comcast, owner of Chicago’s biggest cable system. Sinclair’s executives could not have foreseen these carriage problems happening all at once.
getty images
Hold
New man in Mouse House
Disney CEO Bob Iger stepped aside last week and handed the reins to Bob Chapek, a surprising move and one without a clear sense of what it could mean for ESPN. Chapek and ESPN President Jimmy Pitaro have a long-standing relationship. But the cord-cutting issues that have plagued ESPN for the past several years still aren’t going away.
