The Best One Yet - 📺 “Goodnight to Late Night” — James Corden’s biz model. JP Morgan’s banking bigness. Olipop’s anti-soda surge.

Episode Date: May 2, 2023

The final episode of the Late Late Show with James Corden just aired because the business model of the late night talk show isn’t working. J.P. Morgan just acquired First Republic Bank, because the government needed it to. And the fastest-growing soda in the US is a soda that hates soda… Olipop soda.Vote for the best onesie yet: https://forms.gle/9auDWyBjpHBP15jg8$PARA $JPM $FRB $PEP $KOWant merch, a shoutout, or got TheBestFactYet? Go to: www.tboypod.comFollow The Best One Yet on Instagram, Twitter, and Tiktok: @tboypodAnd now watch us on YoutubeLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Tuesday, T-boy, Tuesday, May 2nd, and today's pod is the best one yet. It's a T-Wy. For the second year in a row, our invite got lost in the mail. Second year in a row. What's going on here, Jack? It was the Met Gala last night.

I had my dress all picked out, my tuxedo ready to go, and no podcasters were on the red carpet. Jack thought a cute top for the most important fashion event of the year. And a win tour, you owe us won again. We're counting. Jack, what's our first story for the show? The late late show with James Corden just aired its final episode. Because the David Letterman business model doesn't work anymore. For our second story, we got an answer on who's going to solve the First Republic Bank financial crisis.

J.P. Morgan has become the Batman of Banking. And our third and final story is soda startup, Oli Pop. This is the fastest growing soda in the United States. Here's the wildest part. The biggest trend within soda is to be anti-soda. Yeties before we hit that fantastic mix. A wild mix for a T-Boy Tuesday. I love this mix.

One of our favorite entrepreneurial sayings is A-B-L-E. A-B-L-E. It stands for always-be launching everything. Now, you've heard Nick and me say that a lot over the past year. Because Jack and I have launched a lot of stuff in the last year. And yesterday we told you about our latest launch, which is a special launch. We're launching a human baby. Molly and I are having a baby. Not a dinosaur. It could be a dinah, but it's a baby. It's a human baby.

Nick and Molly are having a baby in June. We're all very excited. The podfather is going to become a regular father. But that is not our only launch, is it, Jack? Soon you'll be able to buy the best onesie yet. We repeat a limited edition, T-boy baby onesie. So here's what Nick and I were thinking. Here's what we're thinking. Here's what we're thinking. Everyone thinks that their baby is the best one yet. It's only natural. Our show is called The Best One Yet. So naturally, we should make a baby onesie that says the best one yet on it. Ipsop facto, the best onesie yet. For the best one yet.

Exactly. But yet he's here is the best part. We want you to help us design this new T-boy merch. Jack and I jumped in T-boy style. We whipped up 27 different designs for this one-Z. We were indecisive. But we can't decide which is the best best. best onesie yet yet

so here's what we want to do we want you to decide what the best onesie yet of the best ones yet is we put a link in this episode description for you to vote on the best design of the best onesie yet so help us create the best onesie yet you can do it we trust you vote now it takes you two seconds we need you to help we need your vote for the best one yet of the best onesies yet now nick let's swanl our three stories

oh wait you don't know how to swallow yet no no still working on that That's fascinating, man. We will soon. Let's hit our 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. It's 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. So just start the show. Start the show.

For our first story, James Corden's late, late, late, late night show on CPS, is officially over. Because the business model of late night talk shows isn't working right now. All right, Yeti, starting today, 9,000 and 200 professional TV writers are going on strike. Unless a deal got reached late last night after this recording, there's no writers right now to write any TV shows so you're not getting any new TV. It is the problem, yeties.

If Hollywood writers go on strike, then Jimmy Kimmel can't make any funnies. The Writers Union, which has 9,200 members. wants to be paid just as well for streaming TV as they do for cable TV. If you think Jimmy Fallon's coming up with those jokes, it's not him. It's a whole lot of interns. And this first writer's strike since 2008 means we'll have to watch reruns until an agreement is reached. Jack, we should sprinkle on more context here. There is one thing that we will not be watching anymore no matter what happens with the writer's

strike. The late, late show with James Corden on CBS. The late, late show with James Corden, that a, Dorable British man. James Corden made carpool karaoke a thing. Have you seen the one with Paul McCartney and almost made me cry? It's beautiful. I did see the one with Michelle Obama,

which got like a bazillion views on every platform. Or a bazillion times a bajillion. Here's the problem, yet he's. The jolly British host is done with his late, late show. And the CBS network that used to pay him, they've decided not to replace him and to just shut the show down. Now that last part, that's what got Jack and I are curious. So we jumped in T-Boy style to the numbers,

and we noticed some interesting things about the late show industry. We noticed that late night talk shows have kind of gone to sleep in America. Yeah, they have. Late night talk shows, they've been around. They've been hanging around as like a media for 70 years now. The first one was in 1949. In the meantime, markets have changed a lot, but the show formats haven't really at all. Johnny Carson would be kind of a surprise about what's going on right now, Jack.

Yet he's in the pre-internet era, David Letterman's late night show used to get three to five million people to watch every night. All right, Jack, now let's jump into the numbers of the James Corden late, late show. What were we seeing? By the time James Corden debuted in 2015, his viewership was half that. One and a half million people per night. And that's not even the wildest number here. This year, his show was getting half of that.

So it went from five million viewers in David Letterman's era to just 700,000 viewers with James Corden this year. Now, if you're a TV executive behind the scenes, that's not sure. just the only number you're looking at, are you, Jack? Viewership is the worst of all for the young people who advertisers want to get in front of. Because the advertisers need the eyeballs before they put the advertising dollars in front of the eyeballs. And the most lucrative eyeballs of all, they're either not watching late night talk shows at all, or they're only watching clips the next morning on Twitter or YouTube.

And all that is why one CBS executive dropped this big quote last week about shutting down the James Corden show. It's just not sustainable. We can't afford it anymore. And that got Jack and I'm more curious. So, Jack, can you and the surprise guest from backstage whip up the takeaways for us? The business model of late night talk shows isn't working. Gatties, it's not just the numbers here. All the important metrics for late night TV seem to be going in just the wrong directions.

According to sources, James Corden's show cost $65 million a year to produce, but it brings in just $45 million a year in revenues. That's a problem. While viewership's down, advertising is down too. For the top six talk shows, ad sales have fallen by 60% from their 2016 peak. Okay, that's all the numbers of the revenues coming in. But then, Jack, can we talk about the costs that are going up? It's not just inflation. Jimmy Fallon and Stephen Colbert get paid $15 million a year to host their shows.

Oh, and on top of that, they got a staff of writers they need to write shows because it's a daily program. That's expensive. Compare all those expenses. and those shrinking revenues to a reality TV show. Okay, what's going on with Love is Blind? Love is Blind has no script. The cast is barely getting paid. And we're pretty sure that wasn't top shelf wine.

They were pouring 24-7. Netflix can't stream it live yet, but they're working on. We'll take another round. Yeah, that doesn't cost them anything. Nick and I hope that late-night talk shows evolve because James Corden's finale episode was amazing. But in the meantime, this business model, it's just not working. for our second story. The First Republic Bank crisis is over because J.P. Morgan is just going to buy the whole thing.

Look, bigness is generally kind of bad, but America actually benefits from its biggest big bank's bigness. In business. Yeties, yesterday, Jack and I were telling you about how First Republic Bank was just falling apart right in front of our eyes. In just two months, the stock had fallen by 99% because investors' families, found out the bank owed $50 billion more money than it owned. All right. So Jack and I were working on the story all weekend, and we were wondering this question.

Who is going to pay for those $50 billion of losses that First Republic Bank has? He said it was basically going to be one of three people who's going to pay for those $50 billion in First Republic losses. It's either customers who have deposits, the big banks, or the U.S. government. Well, on Monday morning at like, what was, Chad, what was it, 430? 4.30 in the morning. We read the earliest press releases we've ever seen. The CEOs and the governments must have been working all weekend on this thing. After all that weekend work, they announced that the answer is

kind of a hybrid one, right? Like, it's kind of a hybrid. Yeah, the answer is a big bank is taking on First Republic Bank, but they're doing it with the help of the U.S. government. Besties on Monday morning, First Republic Bank's 8.5. 88 bank branches opened up as part of J.P. Morgan. This is kind of good news for J.P. Morgan. Because if you have an account with First Republic Bank, you still have an account and the money's

still there, but it's now part of J.P. Morgan Chase. So if you're J.P. Morgan, you are taking over a potentially lucrative new customer relationship with a whole bunch of high-end techie customers. But the bad news for J.P. Morgan Chase is that they're buying something that's $50 billion short on money. Yeah. That's 50 billion IOUs. that are now J.P. Morgan's IOUs. So based on that, they got the U.S. government to agree to chip in about $13 billion

to help make this deal happen. If any of First Republic's loans default or lose money in the next few years, then the U.S. government is going to cover 80% of them. So J.P. Morgan gets a whole bunch of new customers and only 20% of the risk of this bank. Which is why J.P. Morgan's CEO, Jamie Diamond, said this. This part of the crisis is now over. You didn't say the whole crisis we noticed. Just this part?

It's not that confidence-inducing a statement, actually. He said this part of the crisis. We need less Jamie and more Jamie. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies in the entire financial system? America benefits from its biggest big banks bigness. Yet he's funny thing, Jack and I noticed. J.P. Morgan, you have got an interesting little history of stepping up in America's moments of financial need. In 2008, J.P. Morgan acquired Barron.

Air Stearns and Washington Mutual, two firms that were probably headed for bankruptcy. And in both those cases, J.P. Morgan took a big risk. It bought some really bad financial assets for the sake of the economy. But just like right now, J.P. Morgan got some help back then from a very appreciative U.S. government. All right. So Jack and I had to ask, why is there a history of America and its biggest bank putting out crises together? Because their interests happen to be aligned. Exactly. J.P. Morgan performs best with a stable financial system and strong economy. And the government performs best with a stable financial system and a strong economy. Well, America's biggest bank is profitable enough to

afford a short-term loss on First Republic Bank for that long-term outlook. So America benefits from its biggest big bank's bigness. In business. For our third and final story, Oli-pop, the gut health soda startup is about to hit, get this, $200 million in a lot of annual sales. There's a trend they're benefiting from. Reducitarians. They're growing by reducing. Is that we're going to go ahead for that? That's what I mean. In the meantime, can we talk about safe soda? Can we talk about friendly fizz? Jack, you interested in a anti-cavity cola? These things are finally here. Yeah, because of Olipop. It's a gut health soda filled with prebiotics. Prebiotics. Not probiotics. Don't even ask about the postbiotics. You cannot afford

that. This company has taken soda, a notoriously unhealthy product, an added healthy branding to it. Yes, they did, mostly by replacing sugar with safe sweeteners and gut-helping fibers. 12 ounces of anti-soda soda. That's what they sell. Exactly. It is a soda that says it is not a soda. It's a self-hating soda. It's a self-loathing soda. But you know, it is not loathing. The numbers on this soda startup, are they? Sales this year are on track to double to $200 million. $200 million for a startup. That's only five years old. Jack, we sprinkle on a little context here. We compared this to LaCroy, a company that's kind of similar, like cans of healthier stuff. They've been pumping out pamplemoose for like decades now. LaCroix does about five times more

than that in annual sales, a billion dollars. Pieti's here's the wildest part about this anti-soda soda company olive pop. The flavor of the soda is important, like really important. Critical banana cream. You got to nail that flavor. Apparently one person decides the flavor of all their sodas. The founder is a self-proclaimed supertaster. This is a real thing, by the way. You can be a supertaster. He says his taste buds have extreme sensitivity.

So he is supremely qualified to decide the flavors of all the canes. One out of five people on Earth's apparently a supertaster. This guy, if you had paprika anywhere in the household, he knows about your paprika. He senses it like Yoda senses the force. This guy can taste a leaf of lime through six Tupperware. This is a one-man lictatorship. Dominating this company. It is a one-man lictatorship, but yet he's here's the surprise about this lictatorship.

Soda, the whole industry, benefits from inelastic customer demand. Exactly. Apparently, you are willing to pay more for pop a lot. In Econ 101, you learn about price elasticity. Yes, you do. And if a product is price inelastic, it means customers don't buy less if the price goes up. And apparently the data shows that after coffee, soda is the most price inelastic liquid.

We've told you about the rise of the double-digit latte. Yeah, we've told you about paying $11 bucks for that latte. It happens. We've been there. Gwock is extra. So is the oat milk you asked to put in it. Get this. So is soda. According to Pepsi, just last week, they raised prices by 16%. And Jack, what did we all do?

That's a shocking price increase. From one year up 16%, but people kept buying their Pepsi. We kept on paying. And you know what? That is critical for us. OliPops business model. Because Oli Pop is a premium product. They're $2.50 a can.

Apparently we'll pay for that pop. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our soda buddies over at Oli Pop? The reducititarian trend is growing. Yetis, we first talked to you about reducitarians with plant-based meat. We talked to you about how you're reducing meat content, but you're not eliminating meat content. 80% of Beyond Mead's buyers weren't vegetarians. They were people who also ate meat.

Well, Jack and I noticed the same trend when we interviewed out. Athletic, the biggest craft non-alcoholic beer company in America. A majority of athletics, non-alcoholic drinkers also consume alcohol sometimes. Well, it looks like Oli-pop is another example of the reducetarian trend. The market opportunity for Oli-pop isn't people trying to cut out soda completely. It's people trying to limit their soda. Exactly, because sometimes it's easier to reduce than it is to eliminate. Jack, can you whip up the takeaways for us for T-Boy Tuesday?

James Corden's late-late show has ended. Rider's strike, notwithstanding. But it's not just James. The business model of late-night talk shows isn't working right now. For our second story, J.P. Morgan Chase has taken over the struggling First Republic Bank. Apparently during financial crises, America benefits from its biggest bank. For our third and final story, it's Oli-pop. They're doubling sales of soda to reduce it terrier.

They're focused on customers reducing soda, not eliminating it. Now time for the best fact yet. This one sent in by Harris Womitsu Mauiluo from Togo in West Africa. In Africa, there are two countries whose capital cities are closer than just about any two capital cities in the whole world. So what are the two capitals nearest to each other than any other capital cities? There's not even a speck of land between these two cities. Are you ready? No, there is not hit us up, Jack.

It's Brazzaville in the Republic of Congo and Kinshasa in the Dekhasa in the Dekhasa in the Dek. Democratic Republic of the Congo. These two capitals, they're only separated by like a single river. That's it. You can see the other from the other. You can yell to the other from the other. It's a 15-minute swim, actually. That's it.

In fact, when Harris was growing up, he used to jet ski between the two capital cities. Hope you brought your passport, Harris. Yeah. And put that thing in a plastic bag so it doesn't fall in the water. And call your mother when you get there, Harris. Call your mother when you arrive. Yeties, you look fantastic today. Jack, you look fantastic, even if you were wearing an adult one-ze.

right now. You look great in that too. The best onesie yet. We need your help with designing it. We need to figure out which one of the onesies that we whipped up is the best one yet of the onesies. There's a link in the episode description to a Google form. It takes two seconds for you to vote.

Vote today and you'll look fantastic. Your baby will look fantastic. Nick and I, we'll see you tomorrow. Can't wait. And before we go, a shout out to Brown Bear Yeti, Kai Liang Fu, from Jung Jo Chon. on being the 255th graduation speaker at Brown University.

And happy birthday to my mom. Jennifer Kramer from New Hampshire via Vermont, via Florida, via New York. The best mom yet of four boys, not too shabby. There you go, Jennifer. Four boys this woman raised in that household. That's four onesies. And a happy birthday to Christian Lick-Tee from Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. And happy birthday to Now, who's turning 20.

28 in Tokyo Japan. And a happy birthday to Papa Paola who's celebrating with his family right now. Congratulations to Carrie Hernandez, who just became an aunt, down in El Salvador. And finally, congratulations to Jesse Colzo, who's buying their first home in Fort Worth, Texas.

And to anyone else celebrating something today, make it a T-boy. Celebrate the wins. This is Jack. I own stock of Netflix and Nick own stock of Beyond Me.