🏈 Netflix is going all in on live sports

Today’s market performance 🏆️ 

S&P 500: +0.09% 📈
Nasdaq: +0.65% 📈
Dow 30: -0.49% 📉
Russell 2000: +0.31% 📈

TOP STORY
🏈 Netflix is going all-in on live sports

To kick it off, earlier this year, Netflix announced it’ll be the new home for WWE’s Monday Night Raw.

Moving the classic show from linear TV for the first time since its inception 31 years ago.

A bold move for sure, but not crazy. The crazy move was deciding to host the Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson boxing match.

Yes, YouTube legend Jake Paul vs the 4x heavyweight champion in the squared circle. And as I see it, there are two ways this “fight” can go down. 

• It’ll either be a joke, thanks to the ridiculous rules this match reportedly has.

• OR… Fans will witness the murder of Jake Paul at the hands of Iron Mike—unlikely but would be entertaining.

Either way, have some popcorn ready. 

Finally, to top it all off, Netflix is hosting NFL games for the first time ever.

Netflix announced just last week that it had inked a three-year deal to broadcast the league’s two annual Christmas Day games starting this year.

With the Big Red Giant pouncing on the opportunity to grab what is consistently the highest-rated show on US TV every week.

A very smart move for the streamer, who isn’t afraid to pivot when necessary - something we’re sure Ross would appreciate.

LEGACY MEDIA
🤑 The New York Times is still a cash cow

While legacy media has been on a downward decline for the better part of this past decade, one site is still doing great: The New York Times.

Let’s get the numbers out of the way first, in rapid style…

By the end of 2023:

• 10.36 million subscribers 

• $1.09 billion in revenue from digital subscriptions

• $2.46 billion  (5.48% YoY increase)

In just Q1 2024:

• Achieved revenue of $594.02 million (5.93% YoY growth)

• Digital ad revenue rose 2.9%.

• Added 210,000 digital subscribers, totaling 10.5 million (up 8% YoY).

But it’s not just the money or the new subscribers; they’re also reaching a ton of people.

• Arguably, the most important metric for an old-school media company is website traffic, which usually determines whether they’re dying.

• And as you guessed, yes, the NYT is crushing it there too.

Here were the top 5 legacy media sites by monthly visits in December 2023:

1. nytimes.com: 464.4M

2. cnn.com: 374.7M

3. foxnews.com: 262.1M

4. msn.com: 259.2M

5. people.com: 145.9M

And as you can see, it’s not even a close race. So, I guess, for the time being, the media crown still belongs to the NYT.

That is until a single Twitter account or newsletter—*ahem* The Daily Munch—can take them over.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
🙋‍♂️ Apriora raised $2.8M for its AI Interviewer, Alex

Here’s why people are bullish:

Alex, the AI interviewer, conducts real-time interviews, asks relevant follow-up questions, and analyzes data to provide predictive hiring signals.

• Alex is available to interview candidates at any time, anywhere, saving recruiters time by providing instant feedback.

• Alex can be programmed to fit the specific needs of different roles and companies, so Tesla doesn’t accidentally hire a zookeeper to run its Optimus robots.

For all the sticklers, don’t worry—Alex has a built-in cheat detection system that ensures fair interviews by looking for signs of cheating, such as generative AI use, tab changes, and copy-pasting.

Man, I hope professors don’t get wind of this tech; it could be game over for thousands of students.

But back to the main takeaway:

Alex, or some variation of Alex, can revolutionize hiring, saving companies millions of man-hours and sleepless nights worrying about finding top talent—all without lifting a finger or opening Zoom.