Just yesterday, we found out that entertainment giant Paramount (PARA) was not exactly displeased with being left out of the sports streaming joint venture to be, Venu. That was largely because Paramount was about more than just sports. Nevertheless, it just expanded its sports offerings with new coverage of the Masters golf tournament. Investors were not exactly enthused, as shares were down fractionally in Tuesday afternoon’s trading.
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Now, Paramount plans to ramp up its Masters coverage by an additional five hours, reports note, which includes two hours on Saturday and Sunday alike. Some of this will, at last report, be routed through the Paramount+ streaming service.
The announcement came on the back of another announcement from Augusta National, which revealed it has another major corporate partner providing additional funding: Bank of America (BAC). Given that the Masters pulls in the biggest viewing audience in golf, expanding coverage is likely to prove attractive to advertisers who want to reach that golfing market.
A Foundational Problem?
Paramount has been having its share of troubles these days. But it is not the only one; many other media companies—especially those with linear television components like Disney (DIS) or Warner Bros Discovery (WBD)—have had trouble as well. A new report from Forbes took a look at some of the common threads therein.
Forbes points out, not incorrectly, that most media companies are “consumer discretionary” operations. While they may make life more pleasant, they do not make life itself happen. Consumers pressured by food costs, or by housing costs, can more readily ignore consumer discretionary items and, you know, not die. With this point in mind, it becomes safe to assume that the media companies will find their shares pressured until some kind of relief comes along in basic food and shelter prices.
Is Paramount a Good Stock to Buy Now?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on PARA stock based on three Buys, eight Holds, and seven Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 22.71% loss in its share price over the past year, the average PARA price target of $12.13 per share implies 16.58% upside potential.
