Earlier in the year, we discussed how there are some investors who may shy away from investing in Twitter because of a lack of “real” information in their IPO. However, investors are desperately seeking out opportunities to invest in Pinterest, which has made no money at all!

Why is this?

One possible reason why investors like Pinterest so much, is that it provides primary research for a business, essentially without the business having to conduct any research of its own! On Pinterest, users “pin” items that they like to they’re board, and from there, business can directly see which product users like, and which ones they don’t like. This would be a great way to see which products consumers are interested in buying, and would also help in creating an awareness about the business in question. Of course, along with any online site that basically sells your information to businesses, comes the sacrifice of privacy. In this case however, I think that it would be benefitting both the consumer and the business. From the business perspective, they are able to clearly see what products of theirs are liked by users from certain demographics, and for consumers, they are able to reach a wide array of products that they may not have otherwise known of.

Works Cited

Brustein, Joshua. “Why Investors Love Pinterest so Much.” BloombergBusinessweekTechnology. Bloomberg L.P., 24 Oct. 2013. Web. 24 Oct. 2013.

Not a Distribution Channel, or a Marketing Channel, but a television channel for Netflix.

Virgin Media, Inc., which provides television services in the United Kingdom, has agreed to a deal with Netflix to put the content-streaming company on their cable-box sets. Essentially, they are creating Netflix as a cable company. When this was reported, Netflix shares were trading at an all time high of $313, up a substantial amount from their previous high of $304 (Boorstin).

As I was reading this, the potential for Netflix to be featured as a “cable company” from other service providers around the world proposed an interesting question. Is Netflix no longer an internet-streaming company, or are they now a cable company that has the added benefit of being able to stream content online? If the latter turns to be true in the future as partnerships increase, it would potentially be a huge Point of Difference from other cable companies. Traditionally, NBC, TSN, Global, etc., have only been offered as television-based networks being provided to a consumer from a television service company. For example, here in Vancouver, Shaw and Telus are two examples of companies that provide the television service, while TSN and Global are the companies providing the content. With the added potential ability for Netflix subscribers to stream both original and third-party content both online and on a television set, Netflix’s subscriber base could see a huge increase. If this is the preferred direction of Netflix, it will be interesting to see how competing cable-companies will differentiate themselves from Netflix in attempts to still be relevant services.

Works Cited:

Boorstin, Julia. “Why Netflix is at a New All-Time High.” CNBC. NBCUniversal, 11 Sept. 2013. Web. 17 Oct. 2013.

$80, 000, 000.00

That’s how much money Floyd “Money” Mayweather is projected to earn from his ONE fight with Saul Alvarez. They don’t call him “Money” for no reason (Badenhausen).

$48,410

That was the yearly salary on average for a teacher in British Columbia in 2011 (British).

Every minute he fought Alvarez, Mayweather earned $2+ million. It would take the teacher about 41 years to do the same.

Obviously, these numbers are at the extreme end of the spectrum, but they are none the less true. Professional athletes are being paid a ridiculous amount, an amount that could be spent on bettering a country’s economy, providing more social welfare, reducing taxes…the list goes on, but it’s clear that all the money being poured into the sports industry could become a serious issue.

In a country where one of the largest platforms of every presidential candidate is what they will do to revive the economy, America is overpaying hundreds of athletes. While large companies are laying off workers, quarterback’s are making millions per year for tossing around the ‘ol pigskin. I’m not certain as to what methods of improvement could be instituted for the government, but it appears that there is just too much money tied up in one person, when an entire country is collapsing.

Being objective, not all athletes earn top dollar, however, all professional athletes have sacrificed essentially their entire life to the game they love just to make it to “the show.” The sports industry also generates huge revenues every year, and from team water-boys to stadium concession workers, many jobs are necessary to power one of the biggest entertainment industries in the world.

Even without sponsorships and signing bonuses, whether athletes earn too much money is hard to say with certainty. The provide a limited service, but at a very top dollar. While nothing is set in stone for the future, I would like to predict some sort of drop off in yearly salaries for athletes, with the money hopefully being reallocated to a more worthy cause.

Works Cited:

Badenhausen, Kurt. “Floyd Mayweather Will Earn More Than $80 Million For Record Breaking Fight.” Forbes. Forbes. 14 Sept. 2013. Web. 07 Oct. 2013

British Columbia Public School Employer’s Association. “Teacher Compensation 2011 Context and Considerations.” BCSPEA. BCSPEA. Apr. 2011. Web. 07 Oct. 2013

Red Bull Media House, a media-oriented segment of the Red Bull franchise, has signed TV deal with Fox Sports from 2014 through to 2016. Fox Sports has aquired the broadcasting rights to four major sports events that Red Bull is affiliated with: Crashed Ice, X-Fighters, Cliff Diving, and Air Race. Fox Sports’ FS1 and FS2 networks allow Fox to have 48 hours of programming per day, and Michael Bloom, Senior VP of original programming at Fox, said, “This is something we’ve had our eye on for a while” (Mickle).

(Red Bull Crashed Ice in Munich, 2010)

This is a huge partnership, as one of the largest television networks in America partners with the largest energy drink in the world. For both companies, this can be considered a huge win. Red Bull will generate increased awareness and interest in their product, as they are able to take advantage of Fox Sports’ massive audience. In addition, Fox Sports is able to double their programming per day, and include exciting and entertaining content that consumers will enjoy.

After completing the SWOT analysis of Monster Energy, I was very interested in this article. It could potentially be hard for Monster to find a partnership of their own to compete with Red Bull, although NBC Sports was the previous network to feature Red Bull’s events and may now be looking for a similar product to fill the void. It will be interesting to see how Monster handles this huge partnership, and what moves they will make moving forward to stay competitive.

Works Cited:

Mickle, Tripp. “Fox Deal a Milestone for Red Bull.” SportsBusinessDaily. Street and Smith’s Sports Group. 07 Oct. 2013. Web. 07 Oct. 2013