Stocks A to Z / Stocks B / Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A)
No. of Recommendations: 1
in political reality? Our foreign friends were quick to point out that big pharma has had advertising restrictions in their country's for decades. Does this seem very material to you?
"
Since 1997, when the Food and Drug Administration relaxed disclosure requirements for DTC ads, pharmaceutical companies have increasingly leaned on consumer advertising to drive demand. Under current rules, companies need only disclose a drug’s “most important” risks during commercials.
The result has been a media environment saturated with pharmaceutical messaging. Drug ads made up 24.4 percent of all advertising minutes on evening news broadcasts across major networks — including ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, and NBC — through May of this year, according iSpot. On CBS Evening News, pharmaceutical companies appeared in more than 70 percent of commercial breaks, per Kantar Media.”
What a country. What will fill those advertising spaces, gaming apps? In foreign nations do they allow gaming apps to run ads on every sport watched by kids? Those ads will cause more long-term damage than the pharma ads.
"
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/markets-are-due-...
No. of Recommendations: 5
Drug ads made up 24.4 percent of all advertising minutes on evening news broadcasts across major networks — including ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, and NBC
Does anybody besides aging boomers watch these shows?
From what I read about viewership, the answer is no.
Speaking as an aging boomer who has not watched any of them for 30+ years.
We are headed for a big shakeup in the pharmaceutical area. The US has basically been subsidizing the rest of the world for a long time. Heretofore the US pays the going rate while the ROW demands to pay a negotiated rate of just cost plus a little bit. In effect, US is the one who pays for drug research, thru our higher prices.
This will all change if/when the US demands that we pay no more than other countries do.
No. of Recommendations: 5
In effect, US is the one who pays for drug research, thru our higher prices.
As an example, Ozempic was not developed in the US but is generally much higher priced in the USA than in other countries.
Many experts in the field with associated research papers say that the main driver for higher costs is a combination of factors influenced by the U.S. medical cost/profit incentive system.
Aussi
No. of Recommendations: 1
Rethink it, “ According to live-plus-same-day data from Nielsen, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir averaged 7.179 million total viewers and 969,000 A25-54 viewers. ABC News’ flagship newscast rose by +3% in the former category and +9% in the latter compared to the previous week. Looking at its performance alongside the same week in 2024 (the week beginning May 20), WNT was down -1% in total viewers and -3% in the demo.
NBC Nightly News was the No. 2 newscast in total viewers and the demo, averaging 5.744 million and 872,000 viewers, respectively. Holt’s penultimate week in the anchor’s chair saw week-to-week gains of +5% in total viewers and +12% in the A25-54 demo. Year-to-year, Nightly News was flat in total viewers and up +8% in the demo.
CBS Evening News saw 3.930 million total viewers and 555,000 A25-54 viewers for respective gains of +4% and +10% in those measured categories relative to the week prior. Year-to-year, the newscast was down -7% in total viewers and -12% in the demo. “
No. of Recommendations: 0
"Many experts in the field with associated research papers say that the main driver for higher costs is a combination of factors influenced by the U.S. medical cost/profit incentive system."
Didn't BRK discuss a health-care related joint venture with Amazon and JP Morgan a few years ago? I think they were going to try and bring down health care costs for large employers. If memory serves, they decided it was too hard, outside their circles of competence, or both. Anyone have any information? Did any of them end up doin anything in that space?
abromber
No. of Recommendations: 0
Yes, Haven closed in early ‘21.
JPM Chase launched, in May ‘21, a new business unit called Morgan Health. Initially this unit was designed to improve healthcare initiatives for their employees.
Amazon launched Amazon Pharmacy which was eventually discontinued late ‘22. Unfinished, Amazon bought One Medical in ‘23, significantly expanding their footprint in direct patient care. Since then, Amzn continues to develop various health-related initiatives thru AWS, Alexa and Halo.
Since…I believe public healthcare are been place on BRK’s too hard pile.
Grateful Always,
PaulnKC
No. of Recommendations: 11
Does anybody besides aging boomers watch these shows?
From what I read about viewership, the answer is no.
You should read more. About 30-405 of those shows’ audience is under 50 - so yes, 60%, sometimes more is over 50. (The oldest skewing news program/network, by far, is Fox.) When I was in the business we were lucky if half our audience was under 60, and that was 30 years ago.
I’d hasten to point out that this has always been true. Even in the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’ and even before the advent of cable, the “news audience” has always been older than the general population. The research we did shows that as people’s lives changed they became more interested in news. Things like “mortgage interest rate” and “stock portfolio” were particularly potent, but also other issues like “education for children” and “crime in community” became more salient as people aged from “young adult” to “employed adult” or “homeowner adult.”
Of course the network newscasts have aged as portions of the audience, notably younger people have “cut the cord” and as other options have proliferated. Competition for eyeballs has come in many forms, from YouTube to Netflix to Facebook.
Still, it’s not surprising that the shows are loaded with pharma ads. It’s the right audience: aging, hurting, wanting easy fixes. No shocker there.
Heretofore the US pays the going rate while the ROW demands to pay a negotiated rate of just cost plus a little bit.
Yeah, imagine if the largest single consumer of these drugs was allowed to negotiate instead of being required to passively accept whatever price a drug company slaps on a box. Crazy, I know. Maybe the way to “bend the curve” is to allow users to make a decision on prices too? Just a thought.
