Fox Falls On Wall Street Following U.S. Men’s Soccer Crash

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U.S. financial markets once again ended on a high note, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 42.21, to 22,872.89. Nasdaq was up 16.30, to 6,603.55.


Media stocks were once again mixed, with Fox falling following investor concerns that it will lose viewers to the 2018 FIFA World Cup now that the U.S. has crashed out of the qualifying stage for the tournament.

Should Wall Street be worried? No, says Brian Wieser, Senior Research Analyst for Advertising at Pivotal Research Group. In a research note released following the Closing Bell on Wednesday, Wieser says, “Concerns around the elimination of the U.S. Men’s soccer team from the 2018 World Cup were in the market on Wednesday, but were generally unwarranted.”

Wieser added that Pivotal’s assessment of the 2014 World Cup shows that U.S. games accounted for roughly 20% of ESPN’s tournament viewing, as interest in the sport in the U.S. extends well beyond the home team.

“Press reports indicating a $10 million-$20 million negative impact on the current English-language rights holder Fox ‘feels’ right in this context, and represents a negligible amount for Fox,” Wieser concluded.

“Our price target on Fox remains at $36 on a year-end 2017 basis, and we continue to rate the stock ‘Buy’.”

At the closing bell, 21st Century Fox was down 2.5%, to $26.11.

For a complete look at today’s Closing Prices for media stocks, please visit the Wall Street Report at RBR.com.