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Entertainment

Taking part in the Function of New York? Toronto. That View of Paris? It’s Montreal.

Playing the Role of New York? Toronto. That View of Paris? It’s Montreal.

There are countless examples of this Canadian urban stunt doubling, often pieced together via tight shots and computer graphics. Toronto plays Tokyo in “Pacific Rim,” Chicago in the movie “Chicago,” Baltimore in “Hairspray” and Boston in much of “Good Will Hunting.”

Vancouver plays New York in the Jackie Chan movie “Rumble in the Bronx” (leading to an infamous oversight, in which the city has mountains lurking behind it), and it plays Seattle, Budapest and Mumbai in “Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol.” Montreal has played Marseille and Montrichard, France, in “Catch Me if You Can” and Paris in “X-Men: Days of Future Past”; Washington, D.C., in “White House Down”; and Brooklyn in the movie “Brooklyn.”

Particularly popular filming locations include the R.C. Harris Water Treatment Plant, a beloved Art Deco complex in Toronto that has played sinister locations in movies like “Undercover Brother” (portraying The Man’s headquarters) and “In the Mouth of Madness” (a mental hospital). The University of Toronto has played Harvard, M.I.T. and Princeton, among many other schools.

The reasons for Canada’s prime status as a film “impostor” are many, Mr. Theodore said: tax breaks, lower costs, diverse landscapes, high-quality shooting and editing facilities, friendliness and a general unfamiliarity with Canada among international movie audiences, allowing it to easily stand in without being recognized.

Another factor, according to the exhibition’s designer, Thomas Balaban, an architect and professor at the School of Architecture at the University of Montreal, is that Canada’s cities are more generic than those in many countries, particularly those in the United States, which Canada plays most often.

“Everything goes through a design review board,” said Mr. Balaban, whose architecture firm, TBA, is spearheading the exhibition’s design as well. “There’s this feeling that the cities are designed by committee.”

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Business

TheScore is taking part in underdog in U.S. sports activities playing and public markets

TheScore is playing underdog in U.S. sports gambling and public markets

Score Media and Gaming will ring the opening bell on March 16, 2021 on the Nasdaq.

The Nasdaq

Build it slowly.

This is how media company theScore is looking to establish its gambling asset as the Canada-based company is now fully active in the US sports betting and public market landscape.

“This is how we built our success with our TV network in Canada and how we built our success with the app,” said John Levy, CEO of the company.

TheScore is a sports games and media company that believes its mobile app user base is critical to its growth plan to outsource its sports betting business. Levy knows it will be a challenge as theScore lags behind top companies like FanDuel and Barstool Sports. But he welcomes the competition.

“It’s about who wins in the market and who has the best product and who has the best ideas,” Levy said.

The outsider role

65-year-old Levy spoke about his company when he spoke to CNBC about theScore last September. He envisioned the day Canada will expand its sports game and also welcomed theScore’s longshot status in the sector as a whole.

“We’re an outsider,” said Levy. “We’re the most popular and least well-known brand in the US. But in six months, a year, or eighteen months, that won’t be the case.”

TheScore moved to its digital outlet role in 2012 when Levy sold theScore’s broadcast business to Rogers Communications for $ 167 million. He then said that unloading the network would allow theScore to “focus 100% on our digital products” and expand the mobile app.

The score is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and was introduced this year in the US on the Nasdaq under the ticker “SCR” after the initial public offering raised $ 183.6 million. The company currently has a market capitalization of $ 1.3 billion.

The mobile app has around 3.9 million users per month and provides users with live results, statistics and news. TheScore makes money with sponsorship and digital ads as well as the app and launched its theScore Bet mobile betting app in 2019. It seeks to raise awareness of the flagged “undervalued” betting app Levy as competitors spend millions on branding.

“They don’t know us in the media or in the betting business. And nobody knows us in the financial markets,” Levy said. “But those who do will be hugely rewarded.”

Score Media and Gaming will ring the opening bell on March 16, 2021 on the Nasdaq.

The Nasdaq

The strategy of the score

The company declined to discuss the Core Bet users, but the app is available in four states, including New Jersey and Colorado. Levy said the company will “take a step-by-step approach to building its user base, giving people what they want, and striving for the longevity of what this company will propose.”

But here too theScore is behind in the US scene. Companies like Penn National-sponsored Barstool Sports App are leaders in this field and are available in states like Pennsylvania and Illinois. Jay Snowden, CEO of Penn National Gaming, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” that other states like Indiana and New Jersey will be launched in the next few months. New York is also in sight.

Others, including Fox Corporation’s Fox Bet and MGM’s BetMGM, have also gained prominence in mobile gambling in the United States. TheScore must compete against these larger companies and endure policies of getting more states to license the company.

However, it has help from Canada. A bill (C-218) legalizing sports betting for one-off events is nearing completion and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau endorses the legislation. TheScore believes its home market has the potential to grow to $ 5.4 billion and estimates that the Ontario market alone could reach $ 2.1 billion by 2025.

Canadians place over $ 7 billion in illegal wagers as gambling in the country is mostly limited to horse racing, according to Bloomberg.

TheScore said it had a record quarter for its media revenue, generating $ 10.6 million in the first quarter of 2021. Chad Beynon, an analyst at Macquarie Securities, described his stock as “outperforming”. He said theScore plans to own its sports betting technology and that it could add long-term revenue growth.

“We believe this is important, especially for a company like [theScore]which has the ability to curate the content, offer unique bets and deliver in-play bets that represent only 15% of the current US market compared to 75% in the UK, “Beynon wrote.” In addition, this strategy would also lead to lower platform fees (15% of sales), which should enable a faster margin ramp. “

Chris Lencheski, chairman of private equity advisory firm Phenicia, said he likes theScore’s position, especially with Canada going online. Lencheski acknowledged that gambling companies spend millions on branding as they battle for future market share, but added, “I like the fact [theScore] didn’t put a huge obligation on them just because they felt outside pressure to look like something else.

“Often [companies] Say, “We’re going to look just like another company and we’re going to make it bigger and spend more money,” he added, using Quibi as an example. “How many billions of dollars did you put in this thing? And it was done before it started. TheScore made a nice niche for itself.”

John Levy, CEO of Score Media and Gaming, will ring the opening bell on March 16, 2021 on Nasdaq.

The Nasdaq

Have some lunch

But at some point theScore has to decide what it wants to be in the sports games space and how it will grow.

Properties like BetMGM will take advantage of their hotel properties to attract and retain online gamblers. Meanwhile, digital companies like FanDuel and PointsBet are teaming up with sports teams to bolster their brand and seduce users. And Caesars, who bought William Hill for $ 3.7 billion, is also driving its brand forward.

But Lencheski said companies that broaden their niche by providing speed around the user experience and accurate betting odds would be among the top players. He said peer-to-peer sports games could excel, and companies like theScore could benefit from their user base.

But Lencheski warned the dollar average about getting a new customer, and the grip that customer brings will weigh on businesses with little capital. He predicted that mergers and acquisitions between sports game companies would take place in the next 24 to 48 months.

“If it’s less expensive to consolidate and win, we have to spend money,” Lencheski said. “In other words, when it costs more money to find the next customer than to take part in someone else’s offer.”

TheScore was mentioned among early candidates for a possible acquisition. The company told CNBC that it will not comment on any rumors or speculation when asked about acquisition rumors.

Again, months ago Levy said this was the plan: grow slowly. But theScore is now on the clock, playing the sports betting game as an underdog.

“We are thinking about becoming and positioning ourselves as an industry leader,” said Levy. “We love to be the outsider because they don’t see us coming. We will destroy them. We will nibble on them first and then we will have their lunch.”

Disclosure: CNBC’s parent company Comcast and NBC Sports are investors in FanDuel.

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World News

Asia enjoying ‘catch up’ to Europe in electrical car market: Fitch

Asia playing 'catch up' to Europe in electric vehicle market: Fitch

The employees will work in the Tesla Gigafactory in Shanghai, East China on November 20, 2020.

Ding Ting | Xinhua News Agency | Getty Images

China is the largest player in the Asian electric vehicle market – but the region still lags behind Europe, according to an analyst from research firm Fitch Solutions.

Asia is falling behind Because European governments are taking strong measures to stimulate the growth of the sector, Anna-Marie Baisden, head of automotive research at Fitch Solutions, said in an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia”.

“The region is catching up. When we talk about the Asian EV market, we mostly talk about China, which still accounts for around 90% of sales,” said Baisden.

“But there are a lot of supportive measures that have been put in place in Europe, especially the EU, in response to the coronavirus over the past year … both on the infrastructure side and nationally in terms of incentives,” she said.

A report from Cairn Energy Research Advisors, a consulting firm with a focus on the battery and electric vehicle industry, forecast last year that sales of electric vehicles will increase in 2021. It is coming Countries around the world are pushing for new programs to encourage consumers to buy battery-powered vehicles.

The report also said that The largest growth in sales for this sector is coming from Europe, mainly as EU governments are working to reduce carbon emissions.

Challenges for Japan and India

Baisden said the weak acceptance of electric vehicles in Asia – mainly in countries like Japan and India – was due to a combination of factors.

While there is demand in Japan, “we are still waiting for concrete incentive plans,” she pointed out. “We learned in January that there are plans to create financial incentives for purchasing at the local level, particularly with the goal of having all electric car sales by 2030.”

In India, the electric vehicle sector is likely to receive a boost from Elon Musk’s electric car maker Tesla.

It has a much lower median income than the other Asian markets. There’s a lot of potential there, but it really comes down to India’s demographics.

Anna-Marie Baisden

Head of Automotive Research, Fitch Solutions

According to Reuters, the US company founded Tesla Motors India and Energy Private Limited in February, based in the tech center of Bengaluru in Karnataka.

While the largest economy in South Asia offers tremendous growth potential in the electric vehicle market, the country’s demographics could pose a serious challenge, according to Baisden.

“The supporting guidelines are in place and manufacturers are starting to move in that direction with locally produced cars. But the demographics are different,” noted Baisden.

“It has a much lower median income than the other Asian markets. There is a lot of potential there, but it really comes down to India’s demographics,” she added.

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Business

They’re Flocking to America to Make a Fortune Enjoying Video Video games

They’re Flocking to America to Make a Fortune Playing Video Games

And salaries are rising in North America. The average for a player in the top five of a team has increased from $ 300,000 since 2018 to $ 460,000, Greeley said. The highest-paid players in the United States, Wolf said, could make up to $ 500,000 more than their elite counterparts in a country like South Korea.

Many of the 10 teams in the League Championship Series are backed by billionaires who also own traditional US sports teams. But sport hasn’t become a cash cow yet. To get into League of Legends, teams had to pay Riot $ 10 to $ 13 million.

Riot declined to say how much it made from League of Legends, and analysts don’t believe esports directly benefits it. But SuperData, a research firm, estimated the game itself grossed more than $ 1.8 billion in sales last year.

Just blocks from Riot’s headquarters in western Los Angeles, where games are usually played, is Sawtelle Boulevard, which is where esports stars frequent ramen restaurants and boba shops. Korean transplants often spend their weekends in Koreatown, where they can find foods that remind them of their homeland, said Genie Doi, an esports immigration lawyer.

Work-life balance in the US is another draw for players tired of 18-hour days of training and even developing wrist injuries, said Kang Jun-hyeok, a South Korea-born League of Legends player, the team was Liquid’s coach and general manager. Although South Korea and China have made strides in recent years, the culture is “to work hard and grind until you break down,” said 31-year-old Kang.

North American teams offer these perks to potential players when they do a tricky advertisement to get the best free agents before other teams do. Once a player decides to sign a contract, Ms. Doi helps the team apply for a visa, which she says was normally granted despite the unusual profession.

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Business

Ideas from merchants on enjoying the streaming shares

Tips from traders on playing the streaming stocks

Who is the front runner in streaming?

While Nielsen’s “Tops of 2020” report highlighted Netflix’s lead in the original and acquired television series, one relative newcomer is causing a stir on the streaming movie front: Disney.

Nielsen said that seven of the top ten most streamed films of the past year were seen on Disney +, which launched in November 2019.

Overall viewership has changed slightly, according to the research firm, with Netflix consuming just 28% of streaming time – up from 31% in 2019 – and Disney accounting for + 6%.

“There is room for both of them in the industry because their” prices are not extreme, “said Quint Tatro, founder and chief investment officer of Joule Financial.

“I have three children. We are not canceling either,” he told CNBC’s “Trading Nation” on Wednesday. “It’s a rating question from an investment standpoint. And I just can’t touch Netflix here.”

Netflix’s nearly 3% rise on Wednesday brought the stock to nearly 86 times the price / earnings ratio, and with debt 1.5 times its equity “it’s just not an attractive game,” Tatro said.

“If we’ve had a significant drop in that name where all of a sudden everyone was like, ‘Oh, they’re dead’ – let’s say there was a new player in the game or something – maybe you can pick stocks, but it’s just no touch for me, “said Tatro.

While Disney didn’t initially get the recognition it deserved for Disney +, the stock made an “incredible comeback” from its March lows, Tatro added.

“We own the stock. We have been rewarded for holding the stock. We bought near the March lows. I’m very happy with all of this,” he said.

But since Disney is trading with 40 times the profit from Wednesday, “this has to happen,” said Tatro. “So, I think there is room for both. … In the longer term, I think Disney is the play because they have more than just the streaming, but you have to be patient. The next fix is ​​on the shopping list. Then you get it Shares off. “

TradingAnalysis.com founder Todd Gordon agreed that it is possible to have the best of both worlds. Investing in streaming doesn’t have to be an “either-or” strategy.

Still, Disney stocks have shown remarkable momentum over the past year, Gordon said, referring to a chart.

“Could you imagine placing a bet on the lows of Covid knowing that the country was going to close, that Disney would … surpass Netflix in percentage profits?” Said Gordon.

Disney stock is up over 104% since its low in March, while Netflix is ​​up nearly 70%.

“You could counter and say, ‘Well, Disney kept falling,’ but if you look at the breakout of both stocks, they are both about 20% off their highs,” said Gordon. “So, I don’t think it’s either or. They serve two different ones [demographics]. “

Disclosure: Joule Financial owns shares in Disney.

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