The Best One Yet
🧀 “Return of the Rat” — Chuck E. Cheese’s $1B comeback. Hotelification of offices. Disney’s sports streamer airballs.
Mon, 13 Jan 2025
Chuck E. Cheese is back from bankruptcy… with a brand new babysitter strategy.Pools, massages, bars… Offices are getting “hotelified” for the 2025 Return-to-Office push.Disney, Fox, and Warner’s joint sports app, Venu, just shut down… and the NBA tells us why.Plus, it’s Planuary… Our New Year’s resolution is to plan the whole year this month (we’ll tell ya how). $FUN $DIS $WBDSubscribe to our new (2nd) show… The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinksEpisodes drop weekly. It’s The Best Idea Yet.“The Best Idea Yet”: The untold origin stories of the products you’re obsessed with — From the McDonald’s Happy Meal to Birkenstock’s sandal to Nintendo’s Super Mario Brothers to Sriracha. New 45-minute episodes drop weekly.—-----------------------------------------------------GET ON THE POD: Submit a shoutout or fact: https://tboypod.com/shoutouts FOR MORE NICK & JACK: Newsletter: https://tboypod.com/newsletter Connect with Nick: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolas-martell/ Connect with Jack: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-crivici-kramer/ SOCIALS:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tboypod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tboypodYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tboypod Anything else: https://tboypod.com/ Subscribe to our new (2nd) show… The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinksEpisodes drop weekly. It’s The Best Idea Yet.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Chapter 1: What is the Chuck E. Cheese comeback strategy?
Yetis, this is the hotelification of your office. And our third and final story. The biggest live sports app in years just shut down days before it was set to launch. And former Duke Blue Devil, JJ Redick, is telling us why. But yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. Fantastic mix of stories. I love your sweater, by the way, Jack.
This year, I'm going to do some kind of exercise every day, even if it's just stretching. Jack, this year, I will eat vegetables every day, even if it's just tomato sauce. Nick, this year I will start a blog on going paleo while learning Spanish. Yetis, right now you are feeling peer pressure to announce your wild New Year's resolution. So we whipped up the best resolution yet. We got your back.
First... Jack and I are big fans of pie January. Pie January. It's like dry January, but instead of no alcohol, it's only pie. Pie January. Like instead of cocktails, you eat key lime pie. Instead of pinot, it's pecan pie. Pie January. Trust us, it's going to take off. We're also fans of a resolution called spendvesting. Every week, look at your credit card statement.
One of the things you spent on, invest in the equivalent. For example, if you bought a $100 pair of sneakers, you should then invest $100 in Nike stock. If you spent $17 on a Netflix subscription, buy $17 of Netflix stock. And that is spendvesting. But besties, by far. Jackson, my favorite of favorite New Year's resolutions. What is it, Jack? It's a word that we invented. Planuary. Planuary.
You plan every month of the year in January. You plan your vacations, your goals, your life, your business for the whole year this month. We basically turned our whole whiteboard into a physical calendar with all 365 days. Planned it. For example, April 19th weekend, Nick, what are you doing? I got a trip to Santa Barbara already planned. Fourth of July, long weekend.
I'm staying at the chalet with friends. June 18th, we're doing a guest interview with an epic CEO. The week before Thanksgiving, we're doing a live T-boy show in a surprise city. Plan, plan, plan, plan. Oh, Jack, you are having a baby in like two months. That's on the plan. So I'm setting up a bassinet in February. And Jack, I already booked my colonoscopy. First one ever, baby.
Five months from now, Nick put it on the counter. For some reason, he invited me. Just so I'm aware. You're welcome to join in the room, but really it's for full transparency, Jack. Can you give me a referral promo code after Nick for 50% off? So besties, Jack and I are doing planuary because we always love our favorite Yogi Berra quote.
If you don't know where you're going, you'll end up someplace else. And that's why our new year's resolution this year is to plan. To plan the whole year in January. Happy planuary to all those who celebrate. Colonoscopies for everyone on the, on me. Jack, let's hit our three stories. It's on the calendar.
15 years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in a dorm. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm. It's the best one yet, but the best is the norm. Jack Nick, that's it. I don't even think they need to practice. 50%, that's a fat tip. T-Boy City on your at list. If you know, you know, cause we ready to go. We can't wait no more, so just start the show.
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Chapter 2: How are offices being transformed for 2025?
Yeah, there you go. Problem solved.
True story.
That lawsuit, all right, maybe they don't have to worry about that. Problem solved. But then a second lawsuit was coming, according to reports, that was going to argue the same thing. But this time, the lawsuit was from DirecTV. And according to reports, Disney, Fox, and Warner Brothers were afraid that the lawsuits were right, that this new venue app actually was collusion. It is collusion.
They're supposed to be competing with each other, but they're agreeing to one price. It's like the opposite of competition. Jack, even worse, the cable TV bundle that they still own that had like ESPN. that they make money on right now, that would be collusion too.
So launching Venue could have resulted in Quartz not just killing Venue because of collusion, but taking another look at the cable TV bundle and saying, hey, that's actually collusion too. Yet he's added all up. And now the ultimate live sports streamer to rule them all has been cut from the team. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies who are everyone watching sports?
There's nothing with more friction than being a sports fan. Yeti's great quote Jack and I found. J.J. Reddick, former basketball player and current coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, said, it's not easy to watch an NBA game these days. What he meant was, it's not easy to find an NBA game, right? Because sports media deals are so complex. Think about it, besties.
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Chapter 3: What is hotelification in the workplace?
If you like a TV show, you subscribe to that one streaming network and then you can watch every episode. If you like music, you subscribe to one music platform and you can listen to every song. But if you like a sports team, you have to subscribe to like six services just to watch all of their games. We're in this awful in-between of cable and streaming. To watch every New York Giants game,
you need to subscribe to six different things. Okay, Jack, Rangers games, I like have to have ESPN, I have to have Spectrum, and I have to like have a satellite set up for my parents' Slingbox to get MSG just to see the Rangers. It's been great for the online publishing industry because there's an article every week for how to watch the New York Giants this week. You know what I mean?
Yeah, because nobody knows. Yet he's, honestly, JJ Redick is right. It's not easy to watch an NBA game and there's no live sports streaming solution. Right now, there is nothing with more friction than being a sports fan. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us to kick off the week? Chuck E. Cheese is emerging from bankruptcy after a $300 million turnaround makeover.
Chuck E. Cheese turned its biggest threat, screen time, into an asset. Because you're getting your kids off that screen. Chuck E. For our second story, to entice workers back into the office, buildings are adding hotel-like amenities for the staff to enjoy. It's the hotelification of work. Hospitality is eating the world. Oh, and if your boss isn't adding a spa right now, tag them.
Send them this episode. Send them the episode. The building manager, send them the episode. And our third and final story is Venue. The one live sports streamer to rule them all was shut down before it even launched. So it's still sadly true. There is nothing with more friction than being a sports fan. But yetis, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, the U.S.
economy added 256,000 new jobs in December, which actually sent stocks down on Friday. It continues a trend we've seen. The economy is doing too well. Yeah, this strong jobs report, it's going to be seen as a threat because it could reignite the high prices of inflation. So our central bank probably won't cut interest rates at their next meeting because our economy is already too hot. that.
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Chapter 4: Why did Disney's sports streaming app shut down?
And second, last year was Earth's hottest since the instrument record-keeping industry began, eclipsing 2023's record year. And for the first time in 2024, planet Earth exceeded the Paris climate targets of 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. This is basically a routine update that we now do every January, but you can't ignore the warming of the Earth.
And finally, ski patrollers in Park City are back to work. They've accepted a deal with the mountains. They got their pay raises by two bucks an hour, which is what they asked for the whole time. It comes after a nearly two week strike. Man, Park City just should have paid them in the first place. Ski-pocalypse averted. So Tyler Rice, we know you're doing your bachelor party there pretty soon.
Chapter 5: What is Planuary and how can you benefit from it?
You guys are going to have a blast. Sounds like you'll actually get to ski. You're going to have a great time. You're going to ski. Now, time for the best fact yet. This one whipped up by Jack and me because on Mondays, we do trivia about our weekly show. Here it is. What famous American candy was invented by a former frog salesman? Okay, we repeat.
Literally, a guy who sold frogs, the amphibian, eventually invented an amazing candy. Now, hint, the candy tastes nothing like frogs. We repeat. What candy was created by a man who began his career selling frogs? Besties, leave your guesses in the comments right here on Spotify or YouTube, because the answer is the next episode of our weekly show, The Best Idea Yet. And we'll tell you tomorrow.
Yetis, you look fantastic to kick off the week and happy planuary to all of you. Oh, could you add my assistant to your colonoscopy appointment? I just want to make sure they're aware. Yeah, the more the merrier at this point. Everyone's pretty much invited. We're not going to live stream this thing, right? TBD, TBD.
Besties, let us know what you're up to in your planuary planning and Jack and I will see you tomorrow. And before we go, a happy birthday to legendary Yeti Yee Chook, turning 28 years old in Bloomington, Illinois. And a big shout out to Niels Lundy of the Danish newspaper Dagbladat Borsen, who gave us a shout out. Yeah, Niels is a big Yeti across the pond.
We love having you with us, and we'd love to meet you at a live T-Boy show in Copenhagen. Happy fifth anniversary to Sneerati and Arpin Chatterjee in San Jose. Fifth anniversary. And Caitlin and Cliff in St. Pete's, Florida, have a one-year anniversary. Congratulations, guys. Congratulations to Kate O'Loughlin in Sydney, Australia, who is just thriving in her new job.
And Andrew Blazer in Woodinville, Washington, has got a new job at Microsoft celebrating the epic work win. And a quick shout out to Dish Lamachani of San Francisco, whose New Year's resolution is to listen to every episode of T-Boy every day this year. Okay, Dish is a legendary bestie. We gave him a shout out for his birthday last year. Guess what?
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Chapter 6: What are the features of the new Chuck E. Cheese?
He's already five for five on listening to T-Boy. If he's hearing this, then he's six for six. Let's go, baby. And to anyone else celebrating something today, make it a T-Boy. Celebrate the wins. If you like the best one yet, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music.
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