Report
Hamilton Faber

Media: Five takeaways from Sling's sub count release

Dish Network yesterday disclosed Sling customers for the first time in two years, saying the service was taken by 2.2m subscribers as of the end of 2017. If we triangulate this data point with Fox's comment that it had almost 4m VMVPD subs at the end of Q4 vs. almost 3m at the end of Q3 and assume that 1) July 2017 reports that Sling had 2m subs were accurate and 2) Fox is taken by 60% of Sling subscribers and is carried on all other VMVPDs, then we come out with five key conclusions.
Underlyings
Altice USA Inc. Class A

Altice USA is a holding company. Through its subsidiaries, the company provides broadband communications and video services and markets its services primarily under two brands: Optimum, in the New York metropolitan area, and Suddenlink, principally in markets in the south-central United States. The company delivers broadband, video, and telephony services to the residential and business customers. The company also provides fiber connectivity, bandwidth and managed services to enterprise customers through its Lightpath business (also marketed as Altice Business) and the company provides advertising time and services to advertisers. The company has launched Altice Mobile, a mobile offering, to consumers across its footprint.

Charter Communications Inc. Class A

Charter Communications is a holding company. Through its subsidiaries, the company is a cable operator and a broadband communications company providing video, Internet and voice services. The company also provides its mobile service to residential customers. In addition, the company sells video and online advertising inventory to local, regional and national advertising customers and communications and managed solutions to enterprise customers. The company also owns and operates regional sports networks and local sports, news and community channels. The company owns and operates a two-way telecommunications network which passes various households and small and medium businesses across United States.

Comcast Corporation Class A

Comcast is a media and technology company. The company's segments are: Cable Communications, which provides internet, video, voice, and security and automation services in the United States individually and as bundled services at a discounted rate over its cable distribution system to residential and business customers; NBCUniversal, which includes a portfolio of national cable networks that provide a variety of entertainment, news and information, and sports content, regional sports and news networks, international cable networks, and cable television studio production operations; and Sky, which owns a portfolio of pay television channels that provide entertainment, news, sports and movies.

Discovery Inc. Class A

Discovery, through its subsidiaries, is a media company that provides content across distribution platforms, including pay-television, free-to-air and broadcast television, and direct-to-consumer subscription products. The company's portfolio of networks includes nonfiction television brands such as Discovery Channel, HGTV, Food Network, TLC, Animal Planet, Science Channel, and MotorTrend . The company's portfolio includes Eurosport, a sports entertainment provider. The company classifies its operations in two segments: U.S. Networks, consisting of domestic television networks and digital content services, and International Networks, consisting of international television networks and digital content services.

Diskus Werke AG

Diskus Werke Fankfurt am Main is a holding company. Co. through its subsidiaries is a producer of grinding machines and grinding material for industrial use.

Time Warner Inc.

Time Warner is a media and entertainment company. The company classifies its businesses into three reportable segments: Turner, consisting principally of cable networks and digital media properties operating more than 175 channels globally; Home Box Office, consisting premium pay television and OTT services domestically and premium pay, basic tier television and OTT services internationally, as well as home entertainment and content licensing; and Warner Bros., consisting principally of television, feature film, home video and videogame production and distribution. The company also holds interests in companies that operate broadcast networks.

Viacom Inc. Class B

Viacom provides entertainment through television, film, digital media, live events, merchandise and solutions. The company operates through two segments: Media Networks, which provides entertainment content, services and related branded products for consumers in targeted demographics attractive to advertisers, content distributors and retailers through its media brands including Nickelodeon, MTV, BET, Comedy Central and Paramount Network; and Filmed Entertainment, which develops, produces, finances, acquires and distributes films, television programming and other entertainment content through its Paramount Pictures, Paramount Players, Paramount Animation and Paramount Television divisions.

ViacomCBS Inc. Class B

CBS is a mass media company, which operates the following segments: Entertainment, which is consists of the CBS Television Network, CBS Television Studios, CBS Global Distribution Group, Network 10, CBS Interactive, CBS Sports Network, and CBS Films as well as the company's digital streaming services CBS All Access and CBSN; Cable Networks, which consists of Showtime Networks and its digital subscription streaming offering, and Smithsonian Networks; Publishing, which consists of Simon & Schuster's consumer book publishing business with imprints such as Simon & Schuster, Pocket Books, Scribner and Atria Books; and Local Media, which consists of CBS Television Stations and CBS Local Digital Media.

Provider
Atlantic Equities
Atlantic Equities

Formed in 2003 by an established team from Cazenove, one of the most respected investment banks in the UK, Atlantic Equities conducts and publishes fundamental, bottom up research on mid and large cap US companies.

Atlantic provide order execution through a wide range of DMA products and algorithmic trading suites.

Analysts
Hamilton Faber

Other Reports on these Companies
Other Reports from Atlantic Equities

ResearchPool Subscriptions

Get the most out of your insights

Get in touch