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Happy Friday, FutureParty people. It’s almost the weekend, and you know what that means — cocktails, relaxation, and perhaps a dip or two in the pool. We can help you out with that. Introducing our latest giveaway: an all-inclusive trip to Jamaica with round-trip flights for two, hotel accommodations for four nights at Zoetry Montego Bay, and a $600 Daniela Shevel gift card to complete your tropical vacation wardrobe. Dive in here.
In other news… Atlanta’s baseball IPO, Telly ships free TVs, and classic video games are an endangered species.
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SPORTS
The Atlanta Braves sells to the fans
The Future. If you’re a Braves fan, you can now scoop up a little ownership stake in the team for less than $60. This stock option makes the Braves the only publicly-traded team in the MLB. If investors bite, it could provide a new strategy for baseball to raise funds and join the alternative asset class… not unlike their player cards.
Baseball IPO
Anyone can own a piece of the best team in baseball right now.
On Wednesday, the Atlanta Braves started trading as a common stock, with about 61.7 million shares available under the ticker BATRA.
The asset — which includes the team and its associated real estate development, The Battery — was valued at $2.74 billion.
The stock popped like a fly ball early in trading, reaching a high of almost $55 before dropping 15% as the day wore on.
Nonetheless, analysts believe investor interest will pick up as fans realize the stock is probably the best piece of memorabilia they can buy.
Even with all the available shares, the Braves are still majority-owned by cable billionaire John Malone — who also sits on the board of Warner Bros. Discovery — and his Liberty Media Corp — which also has majority stakes in Formula 1, SiriusXM, and Live Nation.
By going public, Malone may have a cleaner trajectory to ultimately selling the Braves to another investor group or private equity player, which are hot on sports teams right now.
TECHNOLOGY
Courtesy of Telly
Telly ships free billboards… err… TVs
The Future. Telly is shipping 500,000 free TVs across the country, each equipped with an attached lower screen that displays constant targeted advertising whenever the TV is on. It’s an ambitious strategy to put ads in front of audiences who no longer watch ad-supported content. The company may live or die based on whether people really are okay with having an always-on screen they can never really turn off.
Commercial channel
Telly is out with the first TV that’s pretty much subsidized by advertisers.
Customers (mostly millennials and Gen Zers) are receiving the 55-inch TVs free of charge after answering some personal questions, agreeing to their viewership data, and promising to not block the screen.
The TV is equipped with a sensor to make sure they abide by the rules (it’ll make them pay for the TV after multiple violations), and it can scan the room to see how many people are watching and determine ad impressions.
Telly also struck a deal with Nielsen to help determine program viewership — another metric that’ll help advertisers.
The second screen can display weather, news, and sports scores, too.
For advertisers, Telly allows a lot of customization, like only showing ads during certain types of programming (just sports, for example), targeting a specific age group, and marketing to people who only drive Hondas (a boon for Kia, the first brand working directly with Telly).
Right now, Telly is offering slots through ad-tech companies and media agencies, per WSJ. But it’ll soon offer its own self-serve platform for advertisers… and the ads will still have to pass through human checks and balances.
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VIDEO GAMES
Endangered games // Illustration by Kate Walker
Classic video games are an endangered species
The Future. A study by the Video Game History Foundation and Software Preservation Network found classic video games are going the way of the dinosaurs (or the Jurassic Park Super Nintendo game). If a concerted effort isn’t made to preserve classic games, they may be relegated to the bargain bin of history.
Atari archaeology
Roughly 87% of games released in the US before 2010 are “critically endangered.”
Most vulnerable to extinction are those for the Game Boy and Commodore 64.
Why? Games don’t stay on store shelves indefinitely — and they get dropped from distribution (only games like Pokémon get re-released).
Shockingly, the study found silent-era films are more available than the endangered games, showing how woefully unprepared the industry has been in maintaining its relics.
Additionally, copyright laws for video games are unique in that they don’t let cultural institutions preserve and share them (unlike movies and books). The rules are going under review next year, so expect gamers to line up to make a public comment.
Highlights
The best curated daily stories from around the web
Media, Music, & Entertainment
Bron, the indie production company behind films like Joker and Licorice Pizza that had slate deals with Warner Bros. and MGM, has filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy after the money dried up. Read more → deadline
Bob Iger is in damage-control mode at billionaire summer camp in Sun Valley after slipping in an interview with CNBC that linear TV “may not be core” to Disney anymore — setting the stage to put ABC, Freeform, and other networks up for sale. Read more → thewrap
IATSE is holding a strike authorization vote for theater workers, with a strike possibly happening Friday if a new contract deal isn’t reached with the Broadway League and Disney Theatrical Productions. Read more → thr
Fashion & E-Commerce
Selena Gomez’s makeup brand, Rare Beauty, sold $70 million worth of its $23 blush last year. Read more → bloomberg
Diddy is launching an online marketplace called Empower Global that’ll feature a variety of brands from Black-owned businesses. Read more → robbreport
Every Whole Foods location will soon be able to take your palm as payment via Amazon One. Read more → fastcompany
Tech, Web3, & AI
Jon Heder and T.J. Miller are set to star in the Toonstar Web3 animated comedy series FORTUN3 that’ll also have an “AI-powered companion game.” Read more → thr
Twitter may be coming for LinkedIn with a job board that allows companies to feature five available positions on their profiles. Read more → theverge
Stability AI co-founder, Cyrus Hodes, was convinced by his partner, Stability CEO Mohammad Emad Mostaque, to sell his 15% stake to him for a measly $100… just months before a fundraising round valued the company at $1 billion. Read more → insider
Creator Economy
To incentivize creators to start using TikTok Shop, the platform is offering $1,000 cash bonuses, free merch, and other rewards. Read more → insider
Creator-focused financial services platform Karat Financial has raised $70 million and partnered with Visa to develop a platform that allows creators to build credit and have easier access to investment funds. Read more → venturebeat
The new trend taking over TikTok is “NPC Tok,” where creators pretend to act like non-playable characters from video games for tips. Read more → wapo
Future Forecast
The Roxy turns 50, and its inaugural performer Neil Young will return to celebrate the legendary club’s birthday.
Canada gives the 👍.
New Zealand’s movie-worthy upset in the Women’s World Cup.
The healing art of drum therapy.
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Today’s email was written by David Vendrell.
Edited by Melody Song. Copy edited by Kait Cunniff.
Published by Darline Salazar.