The year 2022 was a true Annus Horribilis for Hollywood. Major studios, streamers, cable providers, and other media behemoths collectively lost $542 billion in market value in 2022; the Walt Disney Co., Netflix, and Comcast, three left-wing studios, were primarily responsible for the carnage.
According to reports, the Dow Jones Media Titans index, which monitors the performance of 30 of the largest media companies in the world, lost 40 percent of its value this year, dropping from $1.35 trillion to $808 billion. The losses exceeded those of other industry indices, such as banking, which saw a year-over-year decline of 14.5 percent, and telecommunications, which saw a decrease of 11.2 percent.
A one-two punch of a decline in the streaming market coupled with consumers continuing to cut the cord by the millions caused Hollywood’s terrible year. Additionally, the advertising industry has collapsed as consumers cut back on spending as necessities like food and energy keep rising due to President Joe Biden’s (D) disastrous economic policies.
In 2022, companies that were ignorant paid the most. As the company anticipates weak profitability for the foreseeable future, Disney, a once-invincible brand and iconic American company, saw its stock fall more than 40% this year, leading to the resignation of CEO Bob Chapek, and the hiring of his predecessor, Bob Iger.
Disney spent 2022embracing radical LGBTQ activism and fighting a disastrous political battle with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) over the state’s anti-grooming Parental Rights in Education Law. Disney’s stock is on track to have its worst year since 1974.This year, Netflix lost subscribers for an unprecedented two consecutive quarters, which led to widespread layoffs and cost-cutting measures.
The stock has decreased by more than 50% for the year. Other notable losers include Warner Bros. Discovery, the parent company of CNN, whose stock has fallen more than 60%, and Paramount Global, which has lost more than 40%. Comcast, the company that owns NBC, MSNBC, and Universal, is down more than30% for the year. According to Michael Nathanson, media analyst at SVB Moffett Nathanson, “it’s been a perfect storm of bad news.”
I have covered this industry extensively and have never seen such a poor assortment of data points.
