The Best One Yet - 🧀 “Return of the Rat” — Chuck E. Cheese’s $1B comeback. Hotelification of offices. Disney’s sports streamer airballs.

Episode Date: January 13, 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is Nick. This is Jack. Welcome back. It is Monday, January 13th. 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. Yeties, today like every day, Jack and I are going to make you the most interesting person at the office, aren't we, Jack? Wow. Bold promise, but I think we can deliver. You're going to look and sound fantastic. Three stories for today's show. Jack, what do we got, man? For our first story, Chuckie Cheese is back from bankruptcy. And now they're selling a pizza subscription. Chuckie cheese has a brand new strategy. It's not low brow, it's high brow. For our second story. How are employers getting you back in the office for 2025? Well, Jack, it's with pools, massages, and bars. Yeties, 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, J.J. Reddick, is telling us why. But Yeties, before we hit that one, 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. Yeties, 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 Pied. 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 pino, it's pecan pie.

Pie January, trust us. It's going to take off. We're also fans of a resolution called spend vesting. Every week, look at your credit card statement. One of the things you spent on, invest in the equivalent. For example, if you bought on a $100 pair of sneakers, you should then invest $100 in Nike stock. If you spent $17 on a net phone, Netflix subscription, buy 17 bucks of Netflix stock. And that is spend vesting. But besties, by far, Jackson, my favorite of favorite New Year's resolutions. What is it, Jack? It's a word that we invented. Plannuary. Plannuary. 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 you.

in the room, but really it's for full transparency. Can you give me a referral promo code after Nick for 50% off? So besties, Jack and I are doing Plannuary 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 Plannuary to all those who celebrate.

Colonoscopy is for everyone on the on Mitch. Jack, let's sit our three stories. It's on the calendar. 15 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 an norm. 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. First, a quick word from our sponsor. For our first story, Chuckie Cheese is back out of bankruptcy, and Chuckie is making a comeback. And Chuckie Cheese has turned their greatest threat

into their new greatest strength. Jack, the pizza, it looks like a jigsaw puzzle. The ball pit looks like a super spreader event. And that logo, is that a mouse? Is that a rat? Is it Mickey's like unemployed cousin? What's going on there? Chuckie cheese, where a kid can be a kid and a parent can regret their life choices.

Full disclosure. I've never actually been to a Chuckie cheese, Jack. Full disclosure, I have, but I can't remember anything. Which is concerning. That's how you know it was a good experience. There was like a dupe on 23rd Street we went to, I don't think they're any in New York, man. The first Chucky Cheese was open 48 years ago in San Jose, California.

Now, interestingly, the co-founder of Chucky Cheese was the co-founder of the video game Atari. Same guy. It was his pet project. It was. He chose pizza as the only Chucky Cheese food because it had the fewest components. Very strategic guy. Now, it was supposed to be called Coyote Pizza. True story.

But the mascot supplier. Exx-Ally said him a mouse costume. Yeah. So he just switched it up. He just owned the mouse and called it Chucky Cheese. He just rolled with it. Eventually, Chuck E.P.Oed, and they hit a $1.5 billion valuation about 15 years ago. But during the pandemic, they filed for bankruptcy. That ball pit was literally bankruptcy.

But here's the news. After a strategic makeover, Chuckie Cheese is back, baby. Bankruptcy! It's not the end. It's a new beginning. Get this. In bankruptcy, they were able to erase $700 million of debt. Yeah, the Chuckie Cheese rat was given a whole new lease on life, literally. And the new private equity owner is investing $300 million on a makeover, and they've put a former Six Flags executive at top Chucky Cheeses. And now, Jack, let's pause the pod here for a second and talk about what's gone. What did Chucky get rid of? Because it was actually some really surprising stuff. They eliminated the animatronic, like, band. Remember, like, the rat and the mouse? They're all like playing music in the corner. It was somewhere between entertaining and terrifying. I've seen

pictures. Those are gone. So are the crawl tunnels. We have to crawl all the way up a tiny tunnel, and then the payoff is a big slide down. Makes sense. What about the physical tickets? Those are gone too. Yeah, you'd spend $75 to what,000 tickets so you could buy a 25 cent toy. Most controversial of all

is that they change the pizza recipe. Yeah, they're now using real tomato sauce instead of ketchup. Which shouldn't be controversial. And now, financially speaking, they also changed the business model. Before, you'd only come once or twice a year when your kid or their friends had a birthday party.

But now they've subscribed Chucky Cheese. They've got a monthly subscription called the Fun Pass so you can come as much as you want for $8 a month. Last year, they sold 400,000 of those monthly memberships. That's amazing. It's stable monthly revenue that investors love, plus family spend on extras like food, drink, and some other stuff. But here's what we thought was actually the wildest part of the Chuck E Cheese makeover. They were trying to decide what's better, like what's more popular? A ball pit or a trampoline zone. Okay, so Chuckie Cheese ran a test in Brooklyn and Miami and determined that trampolines get more

engagement. So they replaced all the ball pits with trampolines. Pretty sure on eBay right now, you can find used Chuck E. Cheese balls, which I pay a premium for. You better bleach those balls. The trampolines now cost money, too. You actually have to pay an extra premium if you want to jump on that trampoline. The result, despite having far fewer locations than pre-bankruptcy, they have higher revenue today than before bankruptcy. That's right. Chuckie Cheese, they made deep changes. And despite deep changes, it looks like it worked. Just don't puke in the ski ball machine. Again. Oh, early 2026 prediction? We think that the Chuck Echise rat is going to get his own movie. 2026? He needs a little time jacks. So what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Chuckie

Cheese? Chuckie Cheese spun its greatest threat into its greatest asset. Yeties, five years ago, Chuckie Cheese said that kids using screens was a threat to their business because kids preferred video games playing at home. But Chuck E. Cheese has now positioned itself as a solution to screens. Yeah, here's what we noticed. Historically, Chuckie Cheese was kind of lowbrow. Like, you didn't want to take your kids, but you kind of had to take your kids. Compared to playgrounds or going to the library, Chuckie felt like a less wholesome place for parents to take their kids. But today, in a world where parents are now concerned about screens, Chuckie Cheese's value has flipped. Compared to three hours on the iPad or watching YouTube, Chuckie feels like an active, social

social playtime, constructive for your kid. So Chuck E. Cheese, they just made a lot of big IP changes, but they kept the most valuable part, the physical indoor playground. Perfect for the winter if you're in a cold place like Vermont. Just saying, we could use a Chuckie cheese up here, Chuckie. In a new parenting era that's anti-screen, Chuckie's former threat is now an asset. For our second story, signature sense, saltwater spas, midday massages, yeties. To get you back to in the office for 2025, there is a brand new corporate strategy. It's the hotelification of the office building. Besties this week, J.P. Morgan Chase just joined Amazon and AT&T in ordering you back to the office five,

count them five days a week. America's biggest bank, our biggest retailer, and our biggest telecom company are all ending work from home permanently. Sweatpants are out, suits are in. Now, we should point out, on the other side, Spotify is standing firm with their work from anywhere policy. World wide. Yeah, they actually bought a billboard that says on it, our staff are not children, and we're not going to cheat them like that. But according to the Chicago Booth School of Business, a majority of America's big corporations have something in between, a hybrid situation. Yeah, like three days a week, that's likely what you've got going on right now. The United States is in a Goldilocks situation. We're not all at home. We're not all at the office.

We have a few days in the office, a couple days at home. But besties, you know, we guarantee you this. If your company does have an office, they want it to be full most of the days of the week. Because the CEOs of America's companies, they became CEOs by being first in the office and last out, and they want their employees doing the same. While Gen Z and young millennial parents, they like working from home. So how are these CEOs attracting you into the office? Well, there's a brand new strategy in what is it, Jack. The hotelification of offices. Get this, yeties. Offices are now borrowing tactics from the hospitality industry to keep you in the office after they get you in the office.

Instead of threatening that you'll get fired if you don't come in, they're enticing you in with really nice physical perks in the building. Okay, in San Francisco, one of these tech companies now has a speakeasy bar and a golf simulator in the office

for like multiple companies to use. You're sipping a nagroney with seven irons during the meeting, potentially. There's a law firm that now has meditation pods and an infrared sauna. You can send that slack message from the sauna. Bessies, these are an office part

These are work resorts. The New York Times found one large office building that added saltwater therapy spas and kayak rentals, because I guess they're on the Hudson Rift. Or did they build a river? Like, Jack, is this an office or a Ritz? Oh, I saw that same office, Jack, commissioned a signature scent

so that every meeting room smells like eucalyptus and productivity. During the pandemic, your living room became competition for your cubicle. And now offices are realizing that. So to compete with your living room, they must make the one-hour commute worth it by feeling like a hotel. Nick, a masseuse comes into the office every Thursdays.

I sign up for those free 15-minute massages. It's an amazing perk. Sorry, one second. I'm going to need a new cucumber slice for my midday facial, Jack. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies? Going back to the five-star hotel office. Hotelification is eating the world. Yet he's entrepreneur Danny Meyer, the restaurant founder,

He has this incredible quote we love. He said that hospitality is anticipating the needs of others beyond expectations. Hospitality is anticipating the needs of others beyond expectations. Well, that is a concept that we are now seeing expand beyond the hospitality industry. Residential buildings are adding hotel-like services available to the tenants. We've covered that on this pod. Airlines are investing huge in upscale lounges. We've covered that on this pod.

And now offices are luring back workers, by treating their office buildings like resorts. Like one of your conference rooms, it's now a massage room. You're welcome. Since the pandemic, travel and hospitality has enjoyed record demand at record high prices. Well, now other industries are paying attention to that. Hospitality, it is eating the world. Now a quick word from our sponsor.

For our third and final story, Venue, the ultimate sports app, the one sports streamer to rule them all, is no more. And that highlights the biggest issue facing live sports right now. What is it, Jack? Friction. Friction. The Super Bowl, a Mike Tyson fight,

Game 7 of the Stanley Cup playoffs. If you miss these huge live sports moments, you're missing out on society and culture. Awkward next day at the office. Besties, that is why we have called live sports the holy grail of TV. In this era of personalized feeds, live sports is the only thing

all of America still pays attention to. So one year ago, three big companies tried to put live sports into one single streamer to rule them all. It was a joint venture by Disney, Fox, and Warner Brothers, and it was called Venue. Venu, V-E-N-U. You could cut the cable cord, but you'd still get ESPN, Fox, TNT, TBS, all for just 43 bucks a month. That was the ultimate live sports app jack. 43 bucks a month sounds like a lot, but for all the live sports channels, it's actually a good deal. sports, the most valuable content on TV. What a world we were about to get. Venue was supposed to launch any day now. You're probably going to watch the Super Bowl because you're a venue subscriber. But a flag on the field, Jack, here's the news. On Friday, Venue got cut. Disney, Fox, and Warner

Brothers issued a joint statement saying venue is done. They're shutting it down. Awkward. Now, Jack, what is the reason why the ultimate sports app is suddenly no more? Kind of wild. It involves two lawsuits and one existential risk. Now, the first lawsuit was from a streaming company called Fubo. Fubo argued that those three companies were colluding to control sports. Yeah, why can these three big media behemoths at one price? That's not competition. That's collusion. That should be illegal. So last week, Disney made that lawsuit go away by basically acquiring Fubo. Yeah, there you go. Problem solved. 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 direct TV. 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 courts 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.

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,

week. You know what I mean? Because nobody knows. Yet he's, honestly, JJ Reddick 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? Chuckie Cheese is emerging from bankruptcy after a $300 million turnaround makeover. Chuckie Cheese turned its biggest threat screen time into an asset because you're getting your kids off that screen. Jackie. 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 in this episode. Send him the episode. The building manager, send him the episode. And our third and final story is venue.

The one live sports streamer to rule them all will shut down before it even launched. So it's still sadly true. There is nothing with more friction than being a sports fan. But Yeties, 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.

And investors don't like that. 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. It's basically a routine update that we now do every January, but you can't ignore the warming of the Earth. And finally, ski patrolers in Park City are back to. to work. They've accepted a deal with the mountain. 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. Skipocalypse averted. So Tyler Rice, we know you're doing your bachelor party there pretty soon. 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. Yeties, 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. You're not going to live stream this thing, right? TBD, TBD, besties, let us know what you're off to and your planuary planning. And Jack and I will see you tomorrow. And before we go, a happy birthday to legendary Yenets. Eddie Yechuk turning 28 years old in Bloomington, Illinois. And a big shout-out to Nealindy of the Danish newspaper Dagbladat Borson, who gave us a shout-out.

Yeah, Neels 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 Snihari 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 Lomachani 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 best. We gave him a shout out for his birthday last year. Guess what? 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.