Rokuwas a champ.Lionsgatesurged andNetflixjumped.
Tech shares went bananas in 2023.
Big mediastockshad a mixed year of transition dominated by Hollywood strikes with linear television declines and streaming losses.
The New York Stock Exchange in ManhattanMichael M. Santiago/Getty Images
Paramountfell.Disneyand Fox were basically flat on the year.
Warner Bros Discovery gained.
All are pushing for profitability in streaming and progress there will influence how the stocks perform in 2024.
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This gang contributed significantly to overall gains.
Shares of adjacent tech from Snap to Spotify also rallied.
A Closer Look
Rokuwas king of media in 2023, up 119%.
Disaster was averted when the FDIC agreed to fully guarantee all deposits and Roku took it from there.
May be a potential takeover target.
Disney, the only showbiz stock in the 30-member DJIA, nosed up slightly for the year.
Iger notably acquired the rest of Hulu from Comcast, paying a previously agreed upon $8.6 billion minimum.
It may owe more as both sides have teams working to establish a valuation.
Disney is reportedly doing a deal with Reliance for its assets in India.
One analyst says hes been getting lots of client calls on Disney recently.
Theyll say things like, I used to own Disney.
I just feel like it could be an interesting stock.
There are so many moving parts right now, could you just get me up to speed?'
Investors did not love that quarter,spooked in particular by a glum advertising outlook.
In the last year, that game seems to have failed, unless its sports.
Zaslav has had conversations with Paramounts controlling shareholder Shari Redstone and CEO Bob Bakish about a possible deal.
Skydance would not face regulatory hurdles.
Among big cap entertainment stocks,Netflixgained 63%.
Studios are newly willing to license shows.
It has added an advertising tier and is seeing upside from a crackdown on password sharing.
Fox is still well liked by some analysts no streaming losses and a focus on live sports and news.
But investors like growth and some wonder about the end game.
It just is what it is, said one.
With linear television shrinking and the cost of sports rights rising, Whats the narrative?
Cinema stocks ended the year mixed, withCinemark the No.
3 chain showing sharp gains.
The worlds biggest exhibitorAMC Entertainmentplunged, but analysts dont mind.
Its finally trading roughly in line with its pre-meme historical multiple, said one.
