Media stocks take a beating as S&P plummets into bear territory

Like pretty much everyone else on the stock market, some of the top media companies took a beating on Monday.

Why it matters: Inflation worries have kept Wall Street in a stranglehold for awhile now, but Monday saw the S&P 500 — now off by more than 20% from its high in January — veer into bear market territory.

By the numbers: Monday's biggest losers in Mediaville were Paramount Global (down 8.1%), Netflix (down 7.2%), Warner Bros. Discovery (down 5.6%) and Disney (down 3.7%).

• But as you can see from the chart above, their slide began earlier this month.

The big picture: The market troubles are coming as many in the media and entertainment space have dealt with waning confidence from investors, who are now unsure about the last two years of pricey streaming investments.

• At least some of the streaming downturn can be tied back to inflation, which is forcing many Americans to cut extraneous spending. Many streaming services are finding themselves in that category.

Go deeper.