TV Stocks

TV Stocks are a fun part of HSX that change up the game a little and give traders an additional opportunity to make some money for their ports.

TV Stocks are a derivative stock so players can hold a maximum of 20,000 shares of each TV Stock.

TV Stocks have their own index page which lists all the current TV Stocks.  The index is here.  Players can reach the TV Stock index several ways:

1) Main HSX Navigation Bar:

You can reach the TV Stock Index by using the drop down menus on the navigation bar which is at the top of every HSX page

3) TV Stock Pages:

Each TV Stock page has an explanation about how TV Stocks work and they usually have a link on each TV Stock page that takes you back to the TV Stock Index.

4) Seach By Title:

If you are looking for one particular TV Stock, you can search for it by its title in the search box the same way you would for a movie.

How HSX TV Stocks Work

HSX TV Stocks are very simple.  Each year the public networks (CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX, CW) premiere new shows.  HSX issues TV Stocks for each of the freshmen shows. 

Since these shows are new, there is a chance that they can fail or succeed.  Each season, some shows get cancelled right away and some become hits.  That is the fun part about playing the HSX TV Stocks!

All of the freshmen TV shows are IPOed at the beginning of the season at the same price. (Shows that are added later in the season or at midseason are IPOed as needed.)

HSX TV Stocks are structured very similar to the summer Blockbuster Warrants.  The TV Stocks are worth $1 per original episode that airs.  If a TV show airs 13 episodes, then the stock for that show would be worth $13.  The challenge of managing TV Stocks in your portfolio is the same as Blockbuster Warrants...price vs worth.

A TV Stock might be priced at $8 but has only shown 4 episodes.  Technically, the TV Stock is only worth $4 at that point, but you are investing at a $8 hoping that it airs 8 episodes or more.


How TV Works

HSX focuses on movies and box office and players can easily get confused when it comes to investing in TV Stocks because it is a different industry.  Here is everything you need to know about the TV industry in order to invest in HSX TV Stocks (and be successful).

Somebody came up with an idea for a TV Show and 'pitched' it.  A network gave some money and ordered a 'pilot' (production of one episode to see a sample of what the show would look like).  The network liked what they saw so they made 'an initial order'

This is where TV Stocks come to life.  An initial order has been placed (is usually 13 episodes so the network can try out the show).

The show 'premieres' (airs its first episode) and its fate depends on how many viewers watched it (which is recorded by 'ratings'. Ratings are the TV version of box office).

Somewhere during those first 13 episodes, the network looks at the ratings vs the cost to make the show and decides whether to keep the show going or whether to not keep it going.  There are many different terms used in the TV industry when a show gets to keep going and when a show doesn't get to keep going.  We will cover those now.

If the network likes the show and wants to keep it going you will hear these expressions:

ABC has 'picked up' freshman show Charile's Angels (picked up = ordered more episodes)

FOX has ordered the 'back nine' for Terra Nova (back nine = the average TV season is now 22 episodes... the first initial order was 13 episode + 9 more = a full season)

NBC has 'given a full season' to The Playboy Club (full season usually means that the network has ordered the additional episodes to make a full season and they intend on showing all of them.)


Things get very tricky when the networks do not like how a TV show is performing, because there are many different terms to describe different situations and many times people use them wrongly (most websites reporting TV news also use them wrongly).

The network has already made an order for 13 episodes of a show ('initial order').  They have already paid the money, so when a show does not perform as expected, the networks explore their options and there are several different routes they can take.

The most severe is for the network to 'cancel' a show (the network formally announces that it will not be airing anymore episodes of the show...ever)

Sometimes the network will change a show's 'time slot' (day of the week and/or time of night the show airs) to get better ratings.

The network can also remove the show from the schedule or 'take off the schedule' (they have stopped airing episodes and currently do not know if they will 'cancel' the show, change the 'time slot' or air more episodes at a later time but the network will not be airing anymore episodes until a decision is made.)

When the network is not sure what they are going to do with a show, the show may be placed on 'hiatus' until a decision is made (they stop making new episodes but stay prepared to resume production)

News stories will mention episodes that are 'in the can' when a show is 'pulled from the schedule' or put on 'hiatus' (the number of episodes that are already completed and ready to air.)

The number of episodes 'in the can' is a factor in what the network ends up doing with the show.  If a show is pulled from the schedule after 8 episodes but still has 5 in the can... the network might 'burn off' the remaining episodes (play the remaining episodes in an unimportant 'timeslot' where 'ratings' do not matter so the money spent to make the shows is not wasted).  A popular 'time slot' to 'burn off' episodes the last two seasons has been on Saturday nights.  Sometimes, the networks wait until near the end of the season to 'burn off' episodes or summer or Christmas time.

TV stations make their money by selling commercials that play during their popular shows.  The rates that the networks can charge for ads is related to the number of people who watch the show.  In November and May of each year, the number of people who watch each show are calculated and then the ads are sold based on those ratings.  TV shows usually have guest stars, special episodes or some other gimmick to boost their ratings during these periods, nicknamed 'sweeps'

'Midseason' is a term used to describe shows that start around February instead of the beginning of the regular season in September.  Each network always have a handful of 'midseason' replacements to take over for the shows that failed at the beginning of the regular season. 

'Guest star' is for a performer who has an important role on an episode but is not a regular member of the cast.  A 'recurring role' is a performer whose character is not part of the regular cast but appears in several different episodes.

'Plot' = storyline.  'Arc' is a storyline that takes place over a number of episodes.

'Talent' are the people who perform in front of the camera; 'crew' are the people who work behind the scenes (cameraman, sound. lights, etc...)

A 'showrunner' is the person who is in charge of the show.  They approve the cast, hire directors, negotiate salaries, select scripts, set schedules, etc...



The HSX TV Stock Update

The HSX Dude publishes a weekly article on Mondays called 'HSX TV Stock Update' that helps players keep track of scheduled episodes, aired episodes and TV news.

The weekly article can be found by visiting the 'HSX Stuff' page of The HSX Dude on Mondays or by visiting the index for that series of articles.

A sample of HSX TV Stock Update is pictured below.

HSX TV Stock Update gives a link to each TV show stock; the number of episodes ordered; the number of episodes that have already aired; and actual dates of aired episodes/scheduled episodes.



TV News

TV News is reported randomly just like movie news. 

'Ratings' are reported once a week (for the previous week).

Cancellations and pick ups are reported as they happen.

The HSX Dude makes special posts whenever anything newsworthy happens with a TV Stock that HSX Players should know.



ARB

HSX TV Stocks really do behave like the Summer Blockbuster Warrants.  Most investments are done during the IPO phase and held until there is some news.  It is very common for TV Stocks to go 'ARB' (see here for definition of 'ARB') and stay ARB until delist.

Since most players invest at IPO, the price changes fast right after IPO and then levels off after a majority of HSX players have already invested.  Later on in the season, the shows have aired more episodes and the amount of players investing in the stocks cannot keep up with the amount of episodes already shown.


Stay Tuned!

Hopefully this article has taught you everything you need to know about HSX TV Stocks to become a wise investor and grow your port a little larger.