The media business is taking a deep breath on Wall Street after suffering a beating this week.
Major media stocks recovered some ground Friday following a two-day decline that wiped out tens of billions of dollars in market value.
The widespread meltdown came after Walt Disney Co. warned investors late Tuesday that profit from ESPN and other cable channels would not be as robust as initially thought because fewer consumers are subscribing to full pay-TV packages.
Viacom Inc. shares were up 3 percent in midday trading on Wall Street after taking a combined 21 percent plunge on Wednesday and Thursday. Disney shares were little changed after falling 11 percent over two days. 21st Century Fox was up less than 1 percent, and Time Warner gained 1 percent.
Shares of “Hunger Games” studio Lionsgate surged 5 percent after posting first-quarter earnings that beat analysts’ estimates. The company reported adjusted net income of 26 cents a share, compared with Wall Street expectations of 7 cents a share.
Lionsgate’s profit fell 11 percent from the same period a year ago because of a lower revenue from its movies in theaters and on home video. Total revenue dropped 9 percent to $409 million.
Its stock had been hampered over the previous two days as fellow media and entertainment companies suffered from concerns that the unraveling of the traditional pay-TV bundle will accelerate.
Lionsgate Chief Executive Jon Feltheimer told analysts Friday morning that “disruption in the marketplace will play to our natural strengths” as a maker of popular movies and TV shows.
“That’s been our strategy for the past 15 years, and whether it’s part of a fat bundle, a skinny bundle or no bundle at all, the bottom line is that people are watching more content . than ever before,” he said.
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