Take a look at Netflix if you want some relief from the sea of red in share performances. Over the past week in particular it has performed strongly - up 16 per cent. Take a look at the stock prices of US cable companies and the trajectory has moved in the opposite direction.

The reason is simple. Cable/satellite companies are reliant on sports programming to attract and retain subscribers. In the space of a week that has dried up.

No crowds and now no games. Credit:Getty

In Australia there is only one cable company of note - News Corporation’s Foxtel. It also owns the streaming service Kayo. Foxtel’s main broadcast platform is highly dependent on sport and Kayo is a sport only service. Far from a picture of corporate health before COVID-19 hit, Foxtel now faces a bigger crisis.

Marquee sports have disappeared as various governments around the world have banned (initially) spectators from attending venues and more recently the actual playing of sports. In Australia the major winter football codes, AFL and the NRL, have cancelled the season games until further notice. It is difficult to imagine that play will resume before the end of winter.