“The biggest reality competition series ever,” Beast Games is the product of YouTuber MrBeast and Amazon’s (NASDAQ:AMZN) MGM Studios coming together. Based on Jimmy Donaldson’s, aka MrBeast, already popular YouTube program, the series will have 1,000 competitors vying for a chance to win a $5 million cash prize. The recent action by MrBeast is creating a lot of interest in streaming stocks.
One of Donaldson’s YouTube videos typically costs between $4 and $5 million. Beast Games is expected to have a much larger budget. On the other hand, the deal with Amazon is reportedly worth $100 million.
The focus is undoubtedly on streaming stocks now that MrBeast and Amazon have made their moves, given these stocks are already doing strongly because of Netflix’s (NASDAQ:NFLX) return to profitable growth. However, taking analyst projections into account, we will investigate three equities that are cheap. If investors want to take advantage of the most recent news from Mr. Beast, they will provide some excellent upside.
Roku (ROKU)
Unlike the industry’s heavy hitters, such as Netflix, Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU) continues to struggle this year, with shares losing 36% in value, making it a contrarian play. The firm prioritizes user engagement and income via partnerships and advertising on its vast user base; considering the lack of price momentum it’s one of the more attractively valued streaming stocks to play the MrBeast news.
The plan has worked thus far. Four quarterly earnings surpassed Wall Street expectations, with the latest EPS up 55%. Roku will reveal its Q1 2024 financial results after the market closes on April 25, 2024.
Besides financial performance, newer Roku Pro Series TVs stream better, with sub-$1,500 TVs providing high-end streaming. AI-powered recommendations and UI enhancements are in Roku OS 12. Moreover, live sports and enhanced design are on a new mobile app.
Over and above that, Roku and the NBA introduced NBA FAST, which features historical games, highlights and current NBA G League games. Media Play News uses Roku’s live sports streaming.
More recent Roku firmware upgrades increase content accessibility and Amazon Prime Video, Discovery+ and Vix Plus compatibility.
Roku’s deliberate improvements to user experience and content availability, especially in competitive live TV and sports streaming sectors, show that it’s ready to change the narrative and justify its “Moderate Buy,” with 20 ratings and 47% upside. Roku will capture attention among streaming stocks with its fresh product improvements as MrBeast plans his multimillion-dollar Amazon spectacle.
Comcast (CMCSA)
Given the excitement around MrBeast and his collaboration with Amazon, Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA), which enhances its services via partnerships and technology, is among the finest streaming stocks to purchase.
With the Seaport Stays Hotel, the firm provides Ethernet Dedicated Internet, Business Internet and X1 for Hospitality. The company is also growing its streaming technologies there. With this integration, Comcast hopes to provide dependable and expandable networking solutions to the hotel sector.
Furthermore, Xfinity Mobile by Comcast provides more premium data plans and features — like streaming and limitless internet — than its rivals. For heavy data streamers, the new plans provide more value and flexibility.
To further provide tailored advertising, Comcast employs AI to assess the emotional tones of TV programming. This technology makes television more enjoyable by automatically matching advertisements with topics such as family values.
Additionally, layoffs of 4% affect engineering and installation personnel the most as Comcast’s Sky subsidiary moves from satellite to internet streaming. But to continue prospering in a challenging climate, operations must be streamlined. More positively, new people are using non-traditionally installed streaming services like Sky Glass and Sky Stream.
With a potential upside of 28%, analysts rate CMCSA as a “Moderate Buy.”
Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD)
After purchasing Discovery+ and HBO Max, Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) is one of the market leaders, thanks to an extensive content library housing hits like “House of the Dragon” and partnerships for content development.
In its strategy, WB Discovery is mainly looking to address digitization and streaming competition. In 2025, the business will limit password sharing to protect lost money on shared accounts.
The entertainment behemoth lost $400 million on $10.28 billion in sales in Q4’23. Therefore, password sharing must be forbidden for WBD stock to recover from its 28% 2024 loss.
Better news: Q4 debt repayments totaled $1.2 billion, leaving $4.3 billion cash. Despite losses, Warner Bros. Discovery maintained strong cash flow. Through acquisitions and increased ARPU, the direct-to-consumer segment gained 97.7 million customers globally.
Besides the financial news, Tom Cruise has made his way back to Warner Bros. Discovery with the signing of a strategic agreement to develop and produce both original and franchise theatrical pictures.
The firm is also growing its content by acquiring Premier League and NASCAR broadcasting rights, which will improve its sports broadcasting segment.
Finally, given the present economy, WBD is reorganizing to save expenses and simplify operations. This method helped WB Discovery reduce its Q4 deficit despite a 14% drop in advertising revenue due to expenditure reduction.
Analyst estimates indicate WBD stock holds an upside potential of 64% based on a price target of $13.61.
On the date of publication, Faizan Farooque did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
