The Nine Entertainment Co Ltd (ASX: NEC) share price has been getting a wriggle on over 2019 on the back of a recently announced asset divestment and better-than-expected earnings or operational performance updates.
First up was the April 30 news that Nine has agreed to sell its Australian Community Media and Printing business to a consortium led by Thorney Investment Group for around $115 million, which looks a good price for a collection of regional newspapers.
While on April 1 Nine's management updated an audience of investors over the group's strategy to transform into a digital first media and entertainment business.
Central to this strategy is growth at its online streaming channel Stan, which is forecast to hit profitability in the final quarter of 2019 and has already snared more than 1.5 million subscribers in only 4 years of operations.
Domain is another online asset that is already profitable and has delivered some strong growth with room to grow further.
Elsewhere the outlook for its free-to-air Channel 9 business is more challenged, while the group's digital and print mastheads also face a lot of competition from providers of free news.
Despite the 40% rise in 2019 the stock is still down around 24% from where it was this time last year. As such it's not my cup of tea.
Others in the media space to consider include Domain Holdings Group Ltd (ASX: DHG) or its big rival in REA Group Limited (ASX: REA).
