The Best One Yet - 💥 “ESPN Rizzzz” — Gen Z’s SportsCenter. Silverado’s tariff explainer. Boba Ice Cream IPO.

Episode Date: March 5, 2025

ESPN just launched a Gen Z SportsCenter on Disney+… “SC+” is a playbook for youth content.The US is now in a trade war with Canada and Mexico… the Chevy Silverado explains it all.The world’s biggest fast food chain just IPO’d… China’s Mixue is bigger than McD’s.Plus, the untold origin story of Taco Bell’s Doritos Locos Taco.$DIS $GM $MIXUEWant more business storytelling from us? Check out the latest episode of our new weekly deepdive show: The untold origin story of… The Doritos Locos Taco 🌮. Subscribe to The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinks to listen.“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.—-----------------------------------------------------Subscribe to our new (2nd) show… The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinksEpisodes drop weekly. It’s The Best Idea Yet.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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Wednesday, Sa-Vice Wednesday, March 5th. And today's pod is the best one yet. This is a T-boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. One second, Jack. I just got to put a candle in this Broughtwurst because I believe it is somebody's birthday over there.

It's my full birthday. Not my quarter birthday, okay, Nick. Nothing wrong with stop writing quarters, Jack. A candle and a brot is exactly what the doctor ordered. Maybe a yak sweater in the future. I want to get your hopes up. Yetis, we got three fantastic stories for Jack's big birthday. Jack, what do we got on the TV boy?

For our first story, ESPN just launched a Gen Z Sports Center that they're calling SC Plus. So Jack and I will tell you if this business plan slaps or if it's cringe. For our second story, it's official. After a one-month delay, the U.S. is now in a trade war against Canada and Mexico. So to understand the pain of these tariffs, we're looking at one product. the Chevy Silverado. For our third and final story, the world's largest fast food chain

isn't McDonald's or Starbucks. It's Mishu with 45,000 locations. Mishu sells ice cream and boba tea for $1 in China, and it just IP-O. But Yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories, on my birthday. Your fantastic four-quarter birthday. What a mix of stories, Jack.

Let's do my favorite thing, which is trivia. What product was. so viral that it required 15,000 extra workers to serve it. Jack, what product was so viral? It was invented in a top secret research lab. We're not talking about the atomic bomb or the H-bomb. It's the Doritos Locos Taco. The Doritos Locos Tacos. When Doritos and Taco Bell had a baby, we actually got the most influential brand collab of all time. The Popeye's chicken sandwich, Dunkin' Donuts Charlie Drink, and Starbucks's Unicorn Frappuccino. Jack, they all follow in the footsteps of the DLT.

The DLT, the Doritos Locos Taco, is the latest episode of our deep dive show, the best idea yet. The DLT, it's part Dorito seasoning, part taco shell, part crazy. And depending on how big your belly is, it's definitely something you've dreamed about. Best is if you want to understand

the very beginning of influencer marketing and things going viral online, then listen to this episode. Because an idea scribbled on a 10-year-old post-note actually saved Taco Bell. And that note almost got thrown. out. And the result caused the world to go crazy on this new thing called Twitter. I think you mean loco? Yet is this best-selling taco of all time is the next episode of our weekly show, TBIY. The

best idea yet. The untold origin stories of the products you're obsessed with. So later today after this T-boy, check out our weekly deep dive show, TBIY. New episodes drop every Tuesday for the best idea yet. Tap the link in the episode description because the Doritos Locos taco is the best idea yet. But in the meantime, Jack, we got a fantastic T-boy for the Yetis, don't we, man? 37. I'm feeling good, dude. You're in the best shape of your life. You're in the best shape of your life, Jack.

Let's say that three stories. Let's have three stories. Fifteen years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in the dorm. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm. It's the best one yet, but the best is a norm. Jack Nick, that's it. 50% that's a fat tip. Tea Boy City on your at list.

If you know, you know, because we're ready to go. We can't wait no more. Just start the show. First, a quick word from our sponsor. For our first story, Sports Center, the most profitable TV show of all time, is finally making what we're calling a Rizpivot.

It's called SC Plus, a shorter version of a sports center designed for the Gen Z Sports Curious. Yet is Jack and I have noticed that anything today branded with a plus sign it means you're going to have to pay for it. And that all started with Disney Plus. You might not remember, but back when it launched in 2019,

Disney Plus was the first time a plus was used as a corporate suffix. Netflix didn't use a plus. Now the pluses are everywhere, and it means you have to pay $9.99 a month for it. And finally, this week, Disney put its most successful show of all time on Disney Plus. We're talking about SportsCenter. You know, Jack, I didn't get to grow up with you, but I feel like your Saturday mornings consisted of,

you and your dad in boxers, maybe with a t-shirt on, maybe not, but watching SportsCenter. Here's what would happen. The Yankees would be playing way past my bedtime. So in the morning, I'd rush to SportsCenter, and I would put up video cassettes on the bottom so that I didn't see the score on the bottom and spoil it. And I'd wait for the highlights. It's the best part of my morning. Is this your 37th, 13th, or you're 47th? But yet, he's this is what Jack and I find fascinating about SportsCenter.

SportsCenter is actually the most profitable T-Ey. TV show of all time. And we've got proof. We got the receipts. Because SportsCenter's first episode was back in 1979. And it's had 60,000 episodes since. And SportsCenter airs multiple new episodes every single day throughout the day. SportsCenter was the flagship of ESPN, which was Disney's historic profit puppy. Now, as cable TV started conquering America in the 90s and early 2000s, SportsCenter anchors became the first influencers. They were. I bought Dan Patrick's, Your uncle shaved his head, Jack, because of Scott Van Pelt. In fact, it's thanks to SportsCenter that ESPN demanded the biggest cut of the cable bill by

far. Jack, can we just pause to pause for a second? Can you repeat that for everyone in the stands? I'm going to say it differently. As recently as 2015, ESPN made three times more in affiliate fees than the number two cable channel did, which was TNT. Like we were saying, SportsCenter, it isn't just a profit puppy. It's the most profitable TV show of all times. But because of cord cutting, SportsCenter's viewership is a fraction of what it used to be. Which leads to the news. Jack, step on up. What's the news, buddy? ESPN just gave SportsCenter their biggest makeover since Babe Ruth. Not sure about that analogy, but let's go with it.

Because they're now letting cord cutters watch SportsCenter. That's right. Even if you've cut the cable TV cord, you can now get a new version of SportsCenter called SC Plus. Ten years overdue, in our opinion. Classic. But SC Plus is a 15-minute long. show that airs daily on Disney Plus. And the entire format is a top 10 plays that happened yesterday. Now, funny thing that Jack just said, it's 10 years overdue, in our opinion, because the new SC Plus is targeting 10-year-olds. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Sports Center? SC Plus shows the playbook of catering to youth. So Yetis, ESPN basically just created a

Sports Center for Gen Z. A. Riz pivot, if you will. They low-key covered SportsCenter in Riz until it slaps. And they did it with four specific strategies. The first one is the wardrobe. The anchors are wearing suits because it's ESPN, but they're also wearing sneakers because they're under 30. And now the second key is something Jack and I know well, the content, the format. It's basically bullet points. The top 10 format is a predictable top 10 highlight reel. The third key here is five second ads. The commercial for Daredevil, Born Again, was so fast, you don't even have time to change the channel.

And that's part of the strategy. And finally, the last variable for SC Plus is virality. They gave a whole segment in each episode dedicated to the most shared sports video that was posted to TikTok that day. So, Bastie's add it all up, and it is still SportsCenter, a bunch of highlights and analysis within that top 10 format. But it's SC Plus, which leads to our big question. Can Gen Z Sports Center save Sports Center? Does this new sports center slap or is it cringe? Let us know in the comments.

For our second story, America is officially in a trade war with our neighbors after 25% tariffs hit Canada and Mexico. To understand the pain that this means, we're looking at one product. One product. The Chevy Silverado. Now, Yeties, maybe you did or maybe you didn't circle your calendars, but either way, Jack and I got your backs. Remember last month when we told you that Trump delayed the tariffs here? was going to hit Mexico and Canada with by one month? Well, we got a calendar notification, and that delay expired yesterday. So, as of yesterday, anything entering the United States from

Canada and Mexico is now subject to a 25% tax. As we said, it is Trade War II. Oh, and by the way, Trade War II has also already escalated with China this week. As of yesterday, tariffs on anything coming from China doubled to 20%. Remember what we said, Bessis. Nobody wins. with tariffs. It's bad for investors, bad for companies, bad for consumers, and we'll explain why right now. Okay, so Jack, let's talk about the response quickly. The companies, the reactions, what happened in the markets? Yesterday, Target and Best Buy both said that they were going to pass on tariffs to us through higher prices. So Target and Best Buy stocks both fell. Also yesterday, Chipotle, which imports avocados and tortillas for Mexico, they said they wouldn't raise

prices. Instead, they would absorb the cost. But that means that profits of Chipotle are going to be smaller, so Chipotle's stock fell as well. No matter how a business responds to these tariffs, they're going to suffer. And so stocks overall fell the past two days. Like we said, nobody wins with tariffs. Extra guac is about to get extra. But get this. Stocks, as measured by the S&P 500, have now officially fallen below where they were the day

after the election. That's right. The Trump bump of the last couple months, it has now officially disappeared. The biggest loser of Trade War II might actually be the Chevy Silverado. The old Chevy Silverado and anyone who may want to buy a Chevy Silverado. Because get this, Yetis, Chevy sold 673,000 of their flagship pickup trucks last year, and half of them were assembled in Mexico or Canada. So Jack and I got curious.

We dove in T-boy style and we followed the journey of how you make a Chevy Silverado truck. Well, when those Mexican or Canadian-made Silveradoes enter the U.S. to be sold at a U.S. car dealership, General Motors will now have to pay a tax of $10,000. $10,000 per car. A 25% tariff times a $70,000 silverado is a lot of money. And we're not even including the seat heater upgrade on that. But, Jack, what about the 50% of Chevy Silveradoes that are actually made in America? They're actually going to get more expensive, too.

And why is that, Jack? Power steering and door trim panels of all Silveradoes are made in Mexico. Oh, and according to the Financial Times, the taillights of those Silveradoes made in America are actually made in Canada. So no matter what, the Chevy Silverado is about to get a lot more expensive. And that's going to hurt sales, it's going to hurt general motor stock, and then it's going to hurt consumers. Silverado, though, is just one example. It's not just the car industry.

Good point, Jack, because actually, any big manufactured thing probably had its passports stamped in Canada and Mexico a whole bunch of times before it ended up in your pantry. And why is that? Well, ironically, it's because of a major trade deal that Donald Trump signed in his first term as president. And we'll explain in our takeaways. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies who are consumers in America? American business is being punished with policy whiplash. Policy whiplash. Yet he's wild detail that everyone forgets from this whole story. The reason American car companies are building in Canada and Mexico, what is it, Jack? It's because of the trade deal that Trump made in his first term.

Remember, it was like the new NAFTA, the U.S.-Canada-Mexico trade agreement. It meant that cars could freely be traded between the U.S., Mexico, and Canada, as long as they were 75% made in North America. Well, based on that deal, which President Trump called the most important trade deal ever, car companies started making factories in Canada and Mexico. In the United States, true, true, true. For GM and Chrysler, they spent billions on the belief that North America was a free trade zone. But here's the policy plot twist. Five years later, today, all those factories are now being punished with these new tariffs,

and that is policy whiplash. So, is GM going to pack up from Mexico and Canada and move their Silverado plants to the U.S.? That's what Trump wants. But probably not, Jack, because that would be really expensive. And President Trump could change his mind again. and that would be even more expensive for them. He probably will change his mind again. I wouldn't be shocked if in a month

these tariffs are either doubled or gone. Well, no matter what he does, this is why America's car stocks have plummeted 20% just since November's election and why car prices are about the spike as well. Because five years ago, Trump dramatically changed the rules of trade in North America and now he's doing it again.

Add it all up and businesses are now suffering from policy whiplash. Now a quick word from our sponsor. For our third and final story, the largest fast food chain in the world is a brand you've never heard of. And it's called Mishu. Mishu sells $1 ice cream in Boba T's in China.

And it just IPOed out of nowhere. Out of nowhere. But Yeties, remember last year when we covered the story of the bubble tea bubble? Boba tea stocks were dropping like tapioca. Well, yadies, there is one outlier to the bubble tea bubble. And it's a company called Mishu. And it has more locations than McDonald's.

Jack, could you sprinkle on a little more context, please? Mishu's 45,000 locations beats McDonald's 42,000 and Starbucks is 38,000. Yeah, it's twice as much as KFC and like 40 times more than Shake Shack. But what the heck is Mishu? It's actually a drink chain that sells everything for a dollar or less. Ice cream and bovati. That's all they. I sell. Honestly, my two favorite things. Jack, this is the dollar store of dessert. And that's why it's

worth one-tenth of McDonald's, despite having more locations than McDonald's. Because there's only so much profit you can make when you're dedicated to a $1 price tag like a Frappuccino-only discount Starbucks. And here's the news. They just IPOed at a $10 billion valuation over in Hong Kong. The stock of Mishu popped 40% on its first day of trading like a cheap little sugar high. But here's the question, we're all wondering. Yeah. How did Mishu become the biggest chain on earth? Well, Yiddis, Jack and I have said before, there is no competition at the extremes. And Mishu has positioned itself at the extreme of every customer touchpoint. The first extreme is Mishu's price. Their average mango tapioca milkshake sells for 83 cents. That's extreme. All right, the second extreme is the Mishu mascot.

It's a snow king, which is a snowman who wears a crown, a red cape, and carries ice ice, cream in one hand. Like Frosty, married the Michelin Man and had a baby. And most of the locations have a person wearing that mascot as a costume. This mascot has gone viral for getting into physical fights with other store mascots. The Snow King is beloved over there because he's so extreme. And the third extreme is the Mishu song. Every Mishu can play only one song inside the store. It's a jingle and it's set to the tune of America's, Oh, Susanna. We're just going to mess with your heads and play it right here. It's never going to leave. I love you, you love me, Mish ice cream and tea.

I love you, you love me Mish ice cream and tea. That's all they play in the stores. On repeat, all day, every day. That's extreme. So we know what you're wondering yet is. How have you still not heard about the biggest chain in the world? Oh, because it's only in China, Japan, Australia, and South Korea so far. But the most extreme part of Mishu is actually something we haven't even mentioned yet.

It's not actually a fast food company. Done, done, done. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Mishu? You may know the business, but not necessarily the business model. Get this, Yiddies. Mishu doesn't own or operate a single store. Because all 45,000 Mishu stores are franchises. All of them.

Now, for Starbucks, only about half of them are owned by the company. The other half are run by local business people. For McDonald's, 95% of locations or franchises, the company still runs 5% to understand the business. In fact, every fast food chain Jack and I know of runs at least some locations on their own to understand the business. But not Mishu. So Mishu is actually just a supply company when you think about it. Exactly, Jack. Like, 100% of Mishu's business is actually licensing the name, licensing the brand, selling supplies, selling ingredients,

giving recipes to the 45, restaurant. So, Mishu is the world's largest buyer of lemons, but they don't make a single glass of lemonade. Mishu simply sells those lemons to the Mishu franchisees. So Mishu is the world's biggest fast food chain, but it's actually not a fast food company. It's a supplier. And that is a reminder that when you know the business, you may not necessarily know the business model. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for your birthday? Saviche Wednesday.

36 years old, I'm feeling great. Nick, you can finally watch SportsCenter without cable. It's called SC Plus, and it's for Gen Z SportsCurious. It's a playbook on content catering to youths, aka the Riz Pivot. For our second story, America is now in a trade war against Mexico, Canada, and China, and each country has already announced retaliatory tariffs. It's trade war too, and the car industry in particular is suffering from policy whiplash. And our third and final story is Mishu.

It's the world's largest chain, and it just IPOed in Hong Kong. You may know a business, but not necessarily the business model. But Yeties, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, President Trump just put all military funding for Ukraine on pause. President Trump won't give Ukraine aid until he's convinced that Ukraine's president wants peace. He's asking Ukraine to shake hands with the much bigger country that tried to invade it. Then on Tuesday, President Zelenskyy submitted.

a peace proposal to the United States, so we'll see what happens. And second, major ports along the Panama Canal were just sold for $23 billion. The old owner was a Chinese company, which the White House hated. But the new owner is BlackRock, a massive American money manager based in Midtown Manhattan. And finally, if you open your Uber app in Austin, Texas today, you might see Robo Taxis as a ride hell option. That's right, because Waymo just turned on the Robo Taxi service in Austin right before. the South by Southwest Festival begins.

You can only access Waymo Robotaxies in Austin using the Uber app. You can't use the Waymo app like you can in San Francisco or Los Angeles. Oh, here's the awkward part. Austin is also Tesla's new headquarters, so we're expecting Elon to maybe make a competing announcement about the Cybercat. I think he doesn't want South by Southwest being Waymoed. Which one is going to become the verb first? Now time for the best fact, yeah, this one,

whipped up by my co-host Jack. because it's his birthday and he gets the fact. Now, the Oscars just happened, Nick, and you know I love movie trivia. Now, one of my favorite categories is name an actor who's been a villain more than once. I'm thinking of people who frown a lot. So Ralph Fines has been an actor,

a villain in more than one movie. I feel like he's only a villain. Kevin Spacey has been a villain three times, I think. You're not giving me much time to guess, but keep going. You're on a roll. I just discovered an actor who's been a villain in four different movies. Alan Rickman.

Oh, Rickman! He was Severus Snape and Harry Potter. Classic. He was Hans Gruber and Diehard. Got snubbed. He was the bad guy in Sweeney Todd. Didn't even see it, but I love it. And in love, actually, he's not a very good guy either, is he next?

No, no, no, no, no, no, no. He could have shown a little bit more love. The late, great Alan Rickman is the greatest villain of all time. But a good guy in our hearts. Yes, he is. Yeties, you look, fans. Fantastic today, Jack. You'll look like you're in your prime.

You're in your prime number year, actually, man. 37's a prime number, baby. I thought it was 35, but honestly, who's counted anymore? In the meantime, besties, remember to check out the best idea yet, our weekly show, which just dropped about the Doritos Locos Taco. Besties, we'll see you there. Jack, have fun tonight. We'll see you tomorrow.

And before we go, a happy 28th birthday to Alex M celebrating in Boston. Just outside of Boston. Happy birthday to Jackie Wong. from Memphis, shout out for bowling their first ever Perfect 300. Okay, drinks on Jackie! Is that 10 straight strikes? I've never had two in a row, Jack. And Tom Snyder celebrating a birthday, maybe in a robocap, in Austin, Texas.

And congrats in the promotion. Happy birthday to Alex Crow in Eureka, California. And Leslie A.K. to Menlo Park is celebrating the best birthday yet. Happy birthday to Shane Kral in Chicago. And Rick Finlay is turning 33 years old down in Dallas. Happy sixth birthday to wait. Wade Jeffers in Athens, Ohio. Wade, you and me got the best birthdays, don't we?

Margo Zern, celebrating a birthday down in Hot Atlanta, Georgia. Happy birthday to Felicia, who is looking fantastic at the age of 37 today in Galena, Kansas. And Shane McConnell's got a birthday in Boise, baby. Happy birthday. And happy birthday to Ryan Tite from San Francisco, who's a leap year baby. So we're not going to celebrate on leap day. On that note, happy birthday to Steve Hardin, who's also a leap day, baby. Yeah, good guy, good guy.

to anyone else celebrating something today, make it a tea boy. Celebrate the wins. This is Jack. I own stock of Disney, nickel and stock and shake shack, and we both own stock in Chipotle and ETFs of the S&P 500.