NEW YORK ( TheStreet) -- With so much uncertainty in the stock market, it's nice to have a relatively stable area where investors can take long-term cover.
Lately, it's been dividend stocks. Now, we're told that run is over. I don't buy it. It's rarely, if ever, a bad time to make regular purchases of dividend payers, particularly in growth stocks. In fact, most investors should probably use the strategy as a major portfolio foundation.
That said, speaking directly to sectors, there's probably not a space with better visibility and relative certainty than media.
There are incredible existing and potential synergies between big media and empire building, particularly in sports programming and franchises.
I have hammered it pretty hard:
Buy big media stocks because/if they:
Control key 'appointment viewing'-type content, such as live sports programming; Have a clear path to grow revenue by expanding that empire.
Search
my article history. You'll find loads of support for buying names such as Canada's
Rogers Communications (
RCI) and
BCE (
BCE) to less-monopoly prone, but equally as attractive, American giants like
Time Warner (
TWX) and
Disney (
DIS).
One of my more recent pieces --
Something All Investors Must Do During Earnings Season -- uses media company earnings conference calls to articulate why these stocks should continue to be such strong buys.
As the above-linked article indicates, through all of this excitement,
News Corp (
NWSA), set to spin off its struggling publishing division next year, emerges as the cream of the crop.
Rupert Murdoch, love him or disagree vehemently with 80% of his Tweets, continues to build out a powerful cable and sports empire:
Fox, which includes
Fox News and the
Fox Sports Regional Networks. A competitor in the works to take on Disney's
ESPN. The list goes on and on. News Corp is not only nationwide; it's global, claiming turf obviously in the U.K., and in places such as India.
We received word last night, via
The New York Times, that News Corp will purchase a 40% stake in
YES, that's Yankees Entertainment and Sports, co-owned by the Steinbrenner family,
Goldman Sachs (
GS) and others.
At the same time, News Corp is looking to snag rights to Los Angeles Dodgers baseball.
