Sweeps Week for Media ETFs

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- We are in the midst of another heavy week of earnings with hundreds of companies from across the globe on the docket. A wide collection of sectors will be represented on the week's calendar. However, one industry that appears to be particularly heavily in play in the middle of the week is media.

As I explained in this week's "Five ETFs to Watch This Week," seven of the firms comprising the PowerShares Dynamic Media Portoflio's (PBS) top 10 holdings are on tap this week, including Time Warner (TWX), CBS (CBS), Comcast (CMCSA) and News Corp (NWSA). The seven comprise approximately one-third of the fund's total portfolio.

The outlook for the media industry appears mixed. Late last week, Time Warner Cable (TWC) reported a larger-than-expected quarterly loss. Cablevision (CVC) struggled as well, reporting a 65% decline in profits.

Interestingly, despite the tepid action from the two, the analyst sentiment heading into the week ahead has been generally upbeat. According to a Wall Street Journal report, Time Warner, Comcast, and CBS are each expected to announce higher year-over-year profits.

Previously, I have encouraged investors to wait on the sidelines before jumping into an earnings-fueled ETF. Oftentimes, the excitement surrounding earnings season can inject a healthy dose of volatility in popular products. Therefore, it is best to wait until a clear direction develops. The same goes for the media-tracking PBS

In the near term, a fund like the PBS will be an exciting play for earnings watchers. In addition, the fund is attractive for those looking to target the expanding presence of social media.

Macroeconomic issues such as the crisis facing the EU have dominated the market-related conversation for months. Before these factors fell into focus, however, a great deal of attention was directed towards the popular IPOs of popular social media and Internet companies like LinkedIn (LNKD) and Pandora (P). Recently, this industry has fallen back into focus as deals site, Groupon, prepares its own controversial initial public offering.

In the past, I have encouraged investors looking to take advantage of social media to turn to an ETF like the First Trust Dow Jones Internet Index Fund (FDN).

Although FDN lacks direct exposure to the recent IPO companies, it has ample exposure to Internet titans such as Google (GOOG), Amazon (AMZN), and Yahoo! (YHOO), the fund remains in a strong position to benefit indirectly as more and more people and companies embrace social media in their daily lives.

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