The PowerShares Dynamic Media Portfolio (NYSEArca: PBS) has lagged broader consumer discretionary exchange traded funds this year with a loss of 1.5% as traditional media stocks have been hampered by cord-cutting, or the move away from standard media outlets to newer concepts offered by the likes of Amazon (NasdaqGS: AMZN) and Netflix (NasdaqGS: NFLX).
Some industry analysts see additional near-term downside ahead for big-name media firms, such as Dow component Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS), CBS (NYSE: CBS) and Twenty-First Century Fox (NasdaqGS: FOXA).
Investors are also losing confidence in the industry as media companies revealed shrinking U.S. ad sales and profits that were supported by share repurchases. [Cord-Cutting Hampers Media ETF]
“Media stocks are headed for their first annual decline since 2008 as investors get increasingly wary of the growing number of Americans who drop traditional pay-TV packages, threatening the business model of an entire industry — from cable providers to program producers,” reports Gerry Smith for Bloomberg.
PBS follows the Dynamic Media Intellidex Index, which evaluates companies “based on a variety of investment merit criteria, including: price momentum, earnings momentum, quality, management action, and value,” according to PowerShares.