Raphael Stevens

Paul Freedman and Bryan Carmel co-founded the Pioneer League’s Oakland Ballers last year to keep baseball in Oakland as MLB’s A’s prepare to depart.
Freedman invested $1 million in the Ballers and has loaned the team $5 million.
Now, the organization is crowdfunding for more financing that will give fans the chance to own equity in the team.

Paul Freedman, co-founder and CEO of the Oakland Ballers

Paul Freedman, a 45-year-old serial entrepreneur who has founded and sold five educational technology companies, decided last June he wanted a new type of venture: a baseball team.
When MLB’s A’s announced last year they planned to leave Oakland, California, for Las Vegas, Freedman was despondent. Freedman, born in neighboring Palo Alto, moved to Oakland when he was 15 after spending much of his early schooling in Chicago. Arriving as a new student during high school, Freedman had some initial trouble making friends, so he leaned on A’s games — particularly those on the Oakland Coliseum’s $2 Wednesdays — as a common activity to socialize with classmates.

“It helped me feel welcome,” Freedman said in an interview with CNBC. “Right field at the Coliseum made me feel part of a community again.”
Freedman has lived in Oakland for the past 30 years and in that time has witnessed one professional sports team after another depart the city. The NBA’s Golden State Warriors ditched what was then Oakland’s Oracle Arena in 2019. The NFL’s Raiders moved from Oakland to Las Vegas in 2020. And after this season, MLB’s Oakland A’s will pack up and move to Sacramento before eventually settling in Las Vegas in 2028.
Feeling discouraged for his city, Freedman sent a text last June to Bryan Carmel, a friend from those high school-era A’s games, with a provocative preamble: “I have a crazy idea.”
Freedman proceeded to brainstorm ways to keep baseball in Oakland. That gave birth to the Oakland Ballers, or the B’s — the Pioneer League team that debuted earlier this year, co-founded by Freedman and Carmel. The team, just getting off the ground with initial seed funding, faces an uphill battle to strike a successful business model in Oakland — a city with daunting crime challenges and nearly abandoned by professional sports.

Oakland Ballers stadium. 
Courtesy: Oakland Ballers

The Pioneer League, an MLB partner league whose teams aren’t affiliated with the pro teams like those in minor league baseball, instantly appealed to Freedman’s tech sensibilities because it’s a testing ground for baseball evolution. Oakland, too, has been earned a reputation for cutting edge thinking in baseball, first in the 1960s and 1970s under owner Charlie Finley and later in the 2000s’ “Moneyball” era, which ushered in an era of analytics that have been adopted in all almost all sports.

In lieu of extra innings, tied games after nine innings in the Pioneer League end with a five-pitch home run derby. The league allows players to challenge balls and strikes in real time using a computerized system. The B’s also boast having the league’s first female player, pitcher Kelsie Whitmore.
Now, Freedman has another innovation in mind: a new investment model.

B shares

Freedman has invested $1 million in the Oakland B’s and loaned the team an additional $5 million. Freedman and Carmel have also raised $3 million in outside financing from about 60 individual investors.
Freedman and Carmel are about to set a new valuation for their investment with the debut of a crowdfunded financing round for up to $1.235 million, the legal limit allowable under Securities and Exchange Commission regulations for an entity with finances that have been reviewed by a public accountant but not formally audited.
The new financing round will give fans direct equity in the team. While a market doesn’t yet exist for shares in the team to one day trade and operate as an actual investment, Freedman and Carmel hope that could someday be the reality. That differentiates the concept from common stock in the publicly owned Green Bay Packers, for example, which are purposefully designed as a nonprofit.
“We’re testing the waters here,” said Freedman. “There could be a dividend. There could be a secondary market. Shares will come with voting rights.”
A liquid secondary market would allow for monetization of team shares beyond major transactions such as a team sale.
DealMaker, the platform the B’s are using to crowdsource the funds, has received an expression of interest from more than 3,500 people who say they would like to invest in the team, with pledges for a combined total of nearly $8 million.
Of the hundreds of campaigns DealMaker has facilitated that begin with early expressions of interest, this is the highest number of potential investors the platform has ever seen, said Jon Stidd, DealMaker’s chief marketing officer.
“It’s a testament to the B’s fans and what they’re doing for the community in general,” Stidd said in an interview.

Oakland Ballers stadium. 
Courtesy: Oakland Ballers

The fundraising campaign is expected to officially kick off in the coming days. Potential investors will be able to buy their shares on a first-come, first-serve basis “just like you’re buying sneakers from the Oakland B’s,” said Stidd.
The early interest has inspired inquiries from other local baseball and soccer teams looking to raise money on DealMaker, Stidd said.
“It’s been a rising tide. The Oakland Ballers are getting the message out there,” he said.

Local challenges

Freedman plans to use the crowdsourced money for general baseball operations with a particular emphasis on marketing. In its first year, the B’s have done about $1 million in merchandise sales, according to the team, and has signed up 47 sponsors, including San Francisco’s BART transit system and AAA Insurance.
Working with Oakland city officials, the team used $1.6 million of the team’s initial funding to refurbish Raimondi Field in West Oakland, a historic baseball stadium site where Oakland’s all-Black A-26 Boilermakers played before racial integration. The field sat abandoned and fell into such disrepair that it had become unusable even for Little League games, Freedman said.
Freedman said in workshopping how to keep baseball in Oakland, he ruled out simply buying and relocating a minor league team, fearing that bringing one to Oakland would solidify the city’s reputation as a second-rate location, unfit to support A-list sports teams.
But he’ll have to make sure the B’s flourish as a feel-good story, rather than a dreary reminder of what Oakland once had.
“We don’t think we are replacing the Oakland A’s,” Freedman said. “We mourn the loss of the A’s as much as anyone else.”
One of Freedman’s top challenges is convincing locals that Raimondi Park is a fun — and safe — place to visit. Last month, The San Francisco Chronicle reported agent Lonnie Murray, who is married to former A’s star and Oakland native Dave Stewart, recently expressed player concerns to Freedman about substandard housing in an area where players’ cars were vandalized or stolen. The B’s responded by moving the team to a hotel in a safer area.

Oakland Ballers stadium. 
Courtesy: Oakland Ballers

It wasn’t long ago that Raimondi Park abutted a homeless encampment in West Oakland. Revitalizing the area is important to both Freedman and Oakland, but it’s also a potential obstacle for fan recruitment. Raimondi Park seats about 4,100 people. Thus far, most home games have drawn about 2,000 fans — slightly below average for Pioneer League attendance.
Even among locals, there’s a misperception for how dangerous the area is, Freedman said. He likened the neighborhood to Chicago’s Wrigleyville, where the Chicago Cubs play. Freedman said he is developing partnerships and relationships with local businesses to promote the team and hopefully expand entertainment and eating experiences outside the ballpark.
“We are definitely facing headwinds,” said Freedman. “Oakland hasn’t gotten good press lately in terms of crime. What turns the perception is people having safe experiences. That’s what we are providing.”
Alerting locals to the team’s existence will be especially important next season, when the A’s are no longer around. Green Day singer Billie Joe Armstrong recently gave the team some free publicity by spray painting a B’s logo over an Oakland A’s logo in Toronto’s Rogers Centre.
Winning will also help. The B’s have had an impressive first season. The Pioneer League season is 96 games long, split into two halves, and wraps up Sept. 8. The top two teams from the first half of the season and the second half make the playoffs, which begin Sept. 10. The B’s are currently at 42-30 overall and 15-9 in the second half, putting themselves in playoff contention.
“There’s value in having baseball in a town,” said Freedman. “Oakland deserves to have baseball if it wants to have baseball.”

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Nevada is surging in popularity as a global center of family trusts and a friendly home to the world’s biggest fortunes.
The Western state’s advantage puts it at the forefront of a massive wealth surge pouring into the asset-protection trusts.
At the center of the Murdoch case is the Murdoch Family Trust, which holds the powerful voting shares in News Corp. and Fox Corp. that effectively control the companies.

(L to R) Rupert Murdoch, executive chairman of News Corp and chairman of Fox News, and Lachlan Murdoch, co-chairman of 21st Century Fox, walk together as they arrive on the third day of the annual Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference, July 13, 2017 in Sun Valley, Idaho.
Drew Angerer | Getty Images News | Getty Images

A version of this article first appeared in CNBC’s Inside Wealth newsletter with Robert Frank, a weekly guide to the high-net-worth investor and consumer. Sign up to receive future editions, straight to your inbox.
The Murdoch family feud taking place in an obscure Nevada court highlights the state’s surging popularity as a global center of family trusts and a friendly home to the world’s biggest fortunes.

According to legal industry rankings, Nevada is now the top state in the country when it comes to so-called asset-protection trusts like the one at the center of the Murdoch dispute. The state’s unique combination of no income taxes, iron-clad secrecy protections and strong defenses against creditors makes it the ideal location for big family trusts created to protect assets.
Nevada doesn’t report the total amount of assets in its trusts. The Western state’s fast-growing industry of trust and estate attorneys, trust companies and facilitators keeps a deliberately low profile. Yet experts estimate the state likely has hundreds of billions of dollars in trust assets locked away in nondescript office buildings or trust companies, offering little to no visibility to the outside world.
“Nevada is No. 1 and has been for at least four years,” said Steven Oshins, a Nevada attorney who publishes the most widely cited ranking of states based on their appeal to asset-protection trusts.
South Dakota is a “close second,” and then “there is a big drop-off for the next batch with Tennessee, Delaware and others,” Oshins added.
Nevada’s advantage puts it at the forefront of a massive wealth surge pouring into the asset-protection trusts. The U.S. hosted more than $5.6 trillion in trust and estate assets as of 2021 — more than double the level of 2011, according to data from economists Thomas Piketty, Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman. The estimate is just “the top of a multitrillion-dollar iceberg,” according to the group, since many trusts are not reported to the IRS.

Much of the recent growth is being driven by the so-called Great Wealth Transfer, in which over $80 trillion is expected to be passed down to the next generations, according to trust and estate attorneys. The possible expiration next year of the estate and gift tax exemption, which currently lets couples give away up to $27 million tax-free, is also driving the creation of new trusts. Fears of a global wealth tax, the IRS crackdown on wealthy taxpayers and a wave of foreign millionaires and billionaires using the U.S. as the latest offshore tax haven are also fueling demand.
In the race among states to attract the hundreds of billions of dollar in new trust assets, Nevada has a comfortable lead. Its legislature frequently updates its trust laws and regulations to make them more attractive.
Nevada has no state income tax, no corporate income tax and no inheritance tax, which helps trusts grow in value without having a chunk taken out. Its secrecy laws are also among the strictest in the country. In 2009, the legislature passed a law stating that any records submitted to the Division of Financial Institutions are “confidential.”
While all trust cases in Nevada are officially part of the public record, filing attorneys can use a new 2023 law to keep the trust name, settlors and beneficiaries confidential without a court order. Adding to the confidentiality, it is one of seven states that allow “silent trusts,” which permit the trustee to keep the existence of the trust from the beneficiaries under the trust terms.
Nevada is also unusual in having “no exception creditors” — meaning even ex-spouses, child support claims or lawsuit plaintiffs can’t gain access to a trust. Perhaps its most powerful advantage, and the one with direct bearing on the Murdoch case, is trust flexibility.

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At the center of the Murdoch case is the Murdoch Family Trust, which holds the powerful voting shares in News Corp. and Fox Corp. that effectively control the companies. (The trust also contains the family farm in Australia, the Murdoch art collection and its Disney shares.)
Under the arrangement’s current terms, when Rupert Murdoch dies, control of the trust would pass to four of his children: Lachlan, James, Elisabeth and Prudence. Each would get one vote, meaning no sibling could gain control without the others. The trust was created as an irrevocable trust, meaning it’s designed to be permanent.
Yet according to The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, Rupert Murdoch has moved to rewrite the trust to give Lachlan control after Rupert’s death. He argues that it’s in the best financial interests of the other children, which at least some of them have challenged. Spokespeople for News Corp. and Fox declined to comment.
Changing an irrevocable trust is virtually impossible in many states. Yet in Nevada, it’s common, thanks to a special carve-out known as “decanting.” The state allows irrevocable trusts to be decanted, or changed, into a new trust as long as certain provisions are met. In the case of the Murdoch dispute, Rupert will have to prove to a probate court that he is acting “in good faith and for the sole benefit of the heirs.”
“In Nevada, you can usually fix those things fairly easily,” said Elyse Tyrell, a probate lawyer with Tyrell Law PLLC in Henderson, Nevada. 
Trust and estate attorneys in Nevada said it’s slightly unusual for a trust donor — in this case Rupert Murdoch — to argue that he’s acting in the interests of heirs who are opposing him. Yet if he can make the case that Lachlan’s control would maximize the financial value of News Corp. and Fox Corp., and therefore benefit all the siblings, the court may take his side. The trial starts in September.
It’s also unusual for a family to be able to create a trust in Nevada without business or personal ties to the state. Residing in Nevada is not a requirement for establishing a trust. None of the Murdochs appear to own any homes in Nevada, and none of their businesses have any public headquarters there.
“Normally a family would have some ties in Nevada to establish trust, either living here or having real estate,” Tyrell said. “I don’t believe any of the Murdochs ever lived here.” More

Blink Fitness has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, citing assets and liabilities of $600 million.
The Equinox-owned budget-friendly chain will continue to operate its fitness centers during the sale process.
CNBC/Generation Lab Youth and Money Poll finds roughly half of Americans between ages 18 and 34 spend “nothing at all” on fitness.

A Blink Fitness gym is seen on Flatbush Avenue on August 12, 2024 in the Flatbush neighborhood of the Brooklyn borough in New York City. 
Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images

Blink Fitness, a budget-friendly gym chain owned by luxury fitness company Equinox Group, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
The fitness brand, with more than 100 centers in the U.S., is the latest chain to seek bankruptcy post-pandemic, following companies such as New York Sports Club, 24 Hour Fitness and Gold’s Gym.

The company plans to sell its business and has listed its assets and liabilities at $100 million and $500 million, respectively. It plans to continue to operate its fitness centers during the sale process, according to a release.
“Over the last several months, we have been focused on strengthening Blink’s financial foundation and positioning the business for long-term success,” Guy Harkless, CEO and president of Blink Fitness said in a statement. “After evaluating our options, the Board and management team determined that using the court-supervised process to optimize the Company’s footprint and effectuate a sale of the business is the best path forward.”
This is not the first move by Equinox Group to improve the company’s finances. Luxury fitness center Equinox, which falls in the group’s holdings alongside brands such as SoulCycle and Pure Yoga, completed a $1.8 billion funding round in March, in part to refinance its $1.2 billion of debt.
The company, which is not publicly traded, said it saw a 27% revenue increase in 2023 and that it has seen membership levels almost fully return to pre-pandemic levels. Equinox has a current pipeline to open more than two dozen new locations globally.
Earlier this year, Equinox also launched a $40,000 annual gym membership aimed at its most affluent member base in an effort to improve its finances as well.

This all comes as a CNBC/Generation Lab Youth and Money Poll — which polled 1,034 people ages 18 to 34 in the U.S. in August — showed that roughly one-third of Americans in that age range spend between $1 and $50 a month on exercise and fitness, while 47% report spending “nothing at all.”
Blink offers membership ranging between $17 and $39 per month depending on the location and competes with other budget gym chains such as Planet Fitness, which raised the price of its base membership to $15 per month back in June.
Unlike Blink, Planet Fitness reported strong membership growth of 7% year over year in its second quarter to reach a total of 19.7 million members. Planet Fitness shares recently hit a 52-week high, reaching levels not seen since May 2023.

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Macy’s will set off a wave of change at malls, as it closes about 150 namesake stores across the country by early 2027.
The department store operator has long been a mall anchor, with stores that range between 200,000 and 225,000 square feet.
Mall owners could convert the former Macy’s boxes into smaller retail spaces or make more significant changes, such as adding apartments or demolishing the mall for a completely new development.

A customer enters a Macy’s store that is set to close at Bay Fair Mall on February 27, 2024 in San Leandro, California. 
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images

Macy’s decision to close nearly a third of its stores will spark change in malls and communities across the U.S.
Some of those transformations may catch shoppers by surprise.

The retailer said in late February that it plans to close about 150 of its namesake locations by early 2027. Macy’s has not yet revealed which stores it will shutter. When CEO Tony Spring announced the move, he said the stores that Macy’s will close account for 25% of the company’s gross square footage but less than 10% of its sales.
The company plans to invest more in the approximately 350 namesake stores that will remain, and open new locations for its better-performing brands: higher-end department store Bloomingdale’s and beauty chain Bluemercury.
Yet the closures will be the latest catalyst that pressures malls to evolve to changing consumer tastes. Macy’s is shuttering stores as the growth of online shopping and demographic shifts mean some small towns or regions can no longer support a bustling shopping center.
Macy’s closures will ultimately be a good thing for many malls and customers, said Chris Wimmer, senior director at Fitch Ratings who tracks real estate investment trusts. The department store’s exit will accelerate the inevitable demise of “low quality malls that really don’t need to exist anymore,” Wimmer said. The closures will give the owners of healthier malls a chance to breathe new life and relevance into a shopping center.
In those malls, which tend to have better locations and owners with stronger balance sheets, he said owners are “itching to get their hands on their Macy’s” and free up prime real estate.

Macy’s owns the majority of its namesake stores. That dates back to when mall owners would give department stores a space to draw shoppers and make money by charging other retailers rent.
Macy’s closures will also make way for real estate developments that may better match the changing demographics or economy of their surroundings, whether through construction of a medical building, a retirement community or a grocery store.
But Wimmer acknowledged some of the closed Macy’s may be a tougher sell, and their exit could be the nail in the coffin for a mall that’s becoming an eyesore.
“If it’s in a really bad location where no one wants to spend money to knock it down, then it could rot,” he said.

Shoppers walk through the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City, a shopping mall in Arlington, Virginia, February 2, 2024.
Saul Loeb | Afp | Getty Images

Downsizing department stores

Macy’s is trimming its locations as department stores and malls alike dwindle.
Macy’s has left many malls already. It has closed more than a third of its namesake stores over the last 10 years. As of early May, the company had 503 Macy’s stores, including a small number of other concepts outside malls.

Other anchors have downsized or disappeared from malls, including Sears, Lord & Taylor and JCPenney.
The number of malls has shrunk as well. Real estate firms typically divide malls into class A and B, which have higher occupancy rates and lower sales density, and class C and D, which have lower occupancy rates and higher sales density.
There were 352 shopping malls classified as Class A and B at the end of 2016, according to company reports, S&P Capital IQ and Coresight Research. That fell to 316 malls by the end of 2022.
That decline is sharper among Class C and D shopping malls, which fell from 684 malls in 2016 to 287 in 2022, according to the companies’ research.
Weak U.S. malls have become weaker, and the strong shopping centers have become places where all retailers and consumers want to be, said Anand Kumar, an associate director of research for Coresight. He expects that trend to continue. By 2030, he said, top-tier malls will draw a greater share of total mall spending and more lower-tier malls will either close or be forced to convert more space into non-retail uses.
At some distressed malls, Macy’s may be the last anchor that remains.
Kumar said the U.S. doesn’t need as many malls as customers buy more on retailers’ websites. He added many of the fastest growing retailers in terms of store count, such as Dollar General, Five Below and T.J. Maxx, want to be in suburban strip centers rather than malls.
He said adding more diverse tenants to malls, such as medical buildings, co-working spaces, nail salons and restaurants, can be a smarter move for mall owners to drum up traffic.
That’s what many mall owners have done and could do with vacant former Macy’s locations.
Even if a mall wants to fill a Macy’s space with a retailer, there are few single tenants that can take up the whole box, said Naveen Jaggi, president of retail advisory services at JLL. The ones that could, such as Nordstrom and Belk, generally aren’t opening up huge stores like they did in the past, he said.
Macy’s stores typically range between 200,000 and 225,000 square feet.

Arrows pointing outwards

Stonestown Galleria is an example of how a mall can change after Macy’s closes. The mall, which is in San Francisco, has a Whole Foods, movie theater, sporting goods store and a healthcare facility where the department store once was.
Courtesy: Brookfield Properties

Grocery stores, hockey rinks and Amazon warehouses

If history is a guide, former Macy’s stores will likely transform into spaces and spark projects that surprise longtime mallgoers. The closures of mall anchors have cleared the way for new apartment complexes and entertainment wings with restaurants, amusement parks or activities such as laser tag and rock climbing.
Since 2012, major mall owner Brookfield Properties has redone more than 100 anchor boxes with capital investments of more than $2 billion.
One of the malls it retrofitted after a Macy’s closure is Stonestown Galleria. In the San Francisco mall, a former Macy’s is now a Whole Foods, movie theater, sporting goods store and health-care facility.
At Tysons Galleria in the Washington, D.C. area, Brookfield used the closure of Macy’s as an opportunity to tack on a new wing. It opened in 2021 with broader entertainment offerings, including a bowling alley and movie theater; home furnishing stores including RH and Crate & Barrel; new dining options and a showroom for electric vehicle brand Lucid Motors.
The projects take money and time, said Adam Tritt, chief development officer for Brookfield Properties’ U.S. retail portfolio. As part of the San Francisco conversion, Brookfield had to raise the height of the roof, add more windows and put in a glass storefront.
Those projects show that for mall owners, the closure of an anchor such as Macy’s can come with a silver lining, Tritt said. It clears the way for more flexible and creative uses that draw more people to the mall.
“There’s a collective challenge to get people off the couch and out of the house,” he said.
And by turning a big box into smaller retail or dining spaces that can be leased, the mall owner can be nimbler.
“We are able to break it down into smaller digestible pieces, so that as trends move and communities evolve we are able to respond more quickly,” he said.
At other malls, the tenants that replace a Macy’s could be even more unique.
Near Salt Lake City, Utah, a former Macy’s will soon become the location of the training and practice facility for the NHL’s new addition, the Utah Hockey Club, complete with ice skating rinks and corporate offices.
And in some parts of the country, consumers’ shift from shopping at malls to shopping on their couches has taken physical form. Amazon opened a huge fulfillment center on the former site of Randall Park Mall. The mall in Northeast Ohio struggled with dwindling occupancy rates and ultimately lost mall anchors, including Dillards, JCPenney and Macy’s.
And earlier this summer, Amazon opened another fulfillment center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana — also on a former mall site. More

General Motors on Monday revealed redesigned versions of its entry-level GMC Terrain crossover, including a new standard “Elevation” model.
The vehicle features a more rugged exterior design as well as a new interior with 26 inches of standard information and control screens.
The Terrain is typically one of the bestselling non-truck nameplates for GMC.

2025 GMC Terrain Elevation

DETROIT — General Motors on Monday revealed redesigned versions of its entry-level GMC Terrain crossover, including a new standard “Elevation” model.
The compact crossover features a more rugged exterior design. It also has a new interior with 26 inches of screens, including a 15-inch center touchscreen and an 11-inch driver information cluster.

Those screens are part of a group of new standard safety and convenience features for the vehicle, including adaptive cruise control, front heated seats and enhanced automatic emergency braking. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, which replicate phone apps for navigation and music, among other things, also are standard.

2025 GMC Terrain

With the increase in standard features, GM also is simplifying the model lineup for the Terrain, combining its “SLE” and “SLT” entry-level trims into Elevation. The brand uses the Elevation trim on other vehicles as well.
GM declined to disclose pricing for the redesigned Terrain, which is expected to begin arriving in GMC showrooms late this year. Current starting prices range from about $30,000 to $40,000.
The Elevation trim will launch first, followed by the off-road-inspired AT4 and luxury Denali models.

2025-2026 GMC Terrain

The Terrain is typically one of the bestselling non-truck nameplates for GMC, which has vehicles ranging from the compact crossover to large trucks and SUVs, including the GMC Hummer EVs.
Sales of the Terrain, which is produced in Mexico, were up 31% year over year through the first half of the year after a 17% decline in 2023.

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DirecTV is rolling out the latest iteration of its ad campaign letting consumers know they can watch DirecTV without a satellite dish.
Like its cable and other satellite provider peers, DirecTV has been losing pay TV customers for some time now. It wants to highlight its streaming options, which are internet TV bundles.
The company has recently added former NFL star and college football coach Deion Sanders to the ad campaign ahead of the college football season. DirecTV highlights its sports TV package at a time when live sports beckons the highest ratings.

The “For the Birds” ad campaign for DirecTV emphasizes customers don’t need a satellite dish anymore for service. The pigeons are voiced by former NFL star Deion Sanders, and actors Steve Buscemi and Henry Winkler.
Courtesy: DirecTV

Coach Prime wants consumers to know they can watch DirecTV without a satellite dish. 
The company best known for providing the traditional TV bundle through satellite dishes posted on the sides of houses and on top of buildings is rolling out the next iteration of its ad campaign, “For the Birds,” with NFL star-turned-college football coach Deion Sanders joining the flock.  

The focus of the ad campaign: DirecTV is a streaming company, too.
As pay TV distributors — both satellite and cable companies — have seen customers flee for streaming, DirecTV is trying to get the message out that a clunky satellite dish is no longer needed for its service. 
“We’ve been selling a streaming product for some time, right? It’s not new to us. But many customers didn’t know,” said Vince Torres, chief marketing officer at DirecTV. “We built this as an alternative. … We know that 80% of people prefer not to put the dish on the side of their house.”
Further, the company’s research showed 75% of consumers thought a satellite dish was still required for DirecTV even though it’s had a streaming option since 2016, Torres said. “That’s a very, very large percentage of prospects.”

Prime time

Colorado head coach Deion Sanders speaks with Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders (2) between plays during the home opener game between the Colorado Buffaloes and the the Nebraska Cornhuskers on Saturday, September 9, 2023 at Folsom Field in Boulder, CO. 
Icon Sportswire | Icon Sportswire | Getty Images

This research and shapeshifting media landscape led DirecTV to refocus its marketing efforts — even as Torres contends the company is still a satellite TV provider and values those customers.

The ad campaign that rolled out earlier this year features pigeons voiced by actors Henry Winkler and Steve Buscemi who look through windows while people are watching DirecTV, wondering how it’s possible without a satellite dish on their rooftop. 
The pigeons lament the loss of the dishes. Winkler’s Frank said he “loved doing my business on those things,” while Buscemi’s Bobby quips, “them dishes kept the rain off our beaks.” 
While the changes in media played into his interest in the commercial, Buscemi said in an interview he was sold on perfecting the voice and character of a New York City pigeon.
“For me, it was more about the creative part of it,” Buscemi said. “I just really thought these characters were very funny.”
There’s been a roughly 50% increase in prospects coming to DirecTV’s website since the launch of the ad campaign, Torres said.
Sanders’ inclusion comes just before one of the busiest times of the year for U.S. sports: beginning with college football and the NFL, followed by the start of NBA and NHL, as well as MLB’s postseason.
Sanders, once known as “Prime Time” in the NFL and now known as “Coach Prime,” as the coach of the NCAA’s Colorado Buffaloes, dons a cowboy hat and gold chain, essentially playing himself.
“We have a long history TOGETHER – dating all the way back to 2011,” Sanders said in an email interview. “It was only fitting for us to reunite once again. Coach Prime put his wings back on for DirectTV!”
In a 2011 ad campaign, Sanders was an NFL version of Tinker Bell, wearing a DirecTV football jersey under his wings. Sanders had been suspended on strings when filming that commercial, so voicing the pigeon has been a different experience, he said.

Cord cutting

Pavlo Gonchar | Lightrocket | Getty Images

The industry has shapeshifted since Sanders’ last ad campaign with DirecTV, too.
Satellite TV providers like DirecTV and EchoStar’s Dish were once some of the biggest distributors of the TV bundle. The competition ramped up when cable TV companies began offering broadband.
For a while, the solution for satellite companies was then to concentrate on customers in rural areas, where cable broadband was sparsely available, said Craig Moffett, an analyst at MoffettNathanson.
But the rivalry between cable and satellite over pay TV subscribers has dissipated since streaming has caused many to ditch the bundle.
“All of this is in the context of the cord-cutting phenomenon, and the media companies taking more and more of their best content, including sports, and putting it on streaming platforms, so what’s left of the TV package isn’t very good to sell,” Moffett said.
The first quarter of this year was the worst ever for traditional pay TV subscriber losses, according to MoffettNathanson, which estimated that total losses topped 2.37 million for the first time ever.
Although DirecTV’s financials are now private — a result of private equity firm TPG acquiring a 30% stake in DirecTV from AT&T in 2021 — the company has roughly 11 million customers across satellite and streaming, according to people familiar with the matter. MoffettNathanson estimates DirecTV added more than 20,000 streaming customers earlier this year.
The majority of those customers still have a satellite dish. For DirecTV’s streaming options, consumers can use their own device, like a Roku. But the company also provides its own hardware, called a Gemini box.
DirecTV offers two streaming options — DirecTV Stream, a contract-free internet TV bundle, and DirecTV via internet, which requires a signed contract and is only available through the Gemini device.
Based on Antenna data, DirecTV Stream has the smallest percentage of monthly gross additions when compared with Hulu + Live TV, Philo, Sling TV and YouTube TV — although it often is among the services with the lowest monthly rate of subscriber losses.
“The challenge for consumers now is that it’s increasingly difficult to find what you want to watch,” Torres said about the division of content among various TV and streaming services. “It’s our version of the entertainment industry’s road rage.”
The device allows viewers to switch between streaming apps like Netflix and the DirecTV guide without changing remote controls or inputs or leaving apps.
Other pay TV providers also offer similar options, such as Comcast’s X1 set top box, as well as the Xumo streaming device, a joint venture between Charter Communications and Comcast.

Sticking with sports

The “For the Birds” ad campaign for DirecTV emphasizes customers don’t need a satellite dish anymore for service. The pigeons are voiced by former NFL star Deion Sanders, and actors Steve Buscemi and Henry Winkler.
Courtesy: DirecTV

DirecTV also tries to set itself apart with a focus on sports, a main selling point for the company for some time.
Until the 2023 NFL season, DirecTV had been the sole provider of the “Sunday Ticket” package of games since its inception in 1994. Google’s YouTube TV, a competitor to DirecTV’s streaming options, is now the owner of the rights to “Sunday Ticket.”
But DirecTV still offers “Sunday Ticket” to bars, restaurants and other businesses, many of which rely on the subscription that shows all out-of-market NFL games to draw big crowds.
Nonetheless, streaming has also shaken up live sports, the highest rated TV programming. Amazon’s Prime Video and Netflix have exclusive NFL games, while legacy media companies have nabbed exclusive game rights for their growing streaming services.
On the residential consumer front, DirecTV is still pushing the idea that it has the most complete live sports package offered by a pay TV and streaming provider. Its streaming offering includes all nationally broadcast games and regional sports networks — a rarity for internet TV bundles.
This is where Coach Prime comes into play ahead of football season, Torres said.
“He’s highly recognizable, he’s fun to work with, and he’s effective at getting messages out,” said Torres. “When you think about this challenge that we face, how do we continue to build on this brand message that we’re trying to educate the U.S. population with, who better to join the flock than Coach Prime.”
Disclosure: Comcast owns NBCUniversal, the parent company of CNBC. More

“Deadpool & Wolverine” topped $1 billion at the global box office over the weekend, becoming only the second R-rated film to achieve this feat.
Currently, the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time is Warner Bros.’ “Joker,” which tallied $1.078 billion during is theatrical run in 2019.
This third stand-alone feature starring Ryan Reynolds as the regenerating degenerate has already posted the highest opening of any film released in 2024 and holds the record for the highest debut of an R-rated film ever.

Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman star in Marvel’s “Deadpool & Wolverine.”

The “Merc with a Mouth” is breaking even more box office records.
Over the weekend, Disney and Marvel’s “Deadpool & Wolverine” became only the second R-rated film to top $1 billion at the global box office. And it’s on its way to becoming the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time.

Currently, that record is held by Warner Bros.’ “Joker,” which tallied $1.078 billion during is theatrical run in 2019, according to data from Comscore. As of Sunday’s estimated numbers, “Deadpool & Wolverine” has tallied $1.029 billion.
“This film set the blueprint for how to create the perfect box office beast, from a novel marketing strategy that included a viral popcorn bucket to a perfect release date, Ryan Reynolds’ tireless promotion of the film and, most importantly, a great movie that was embraced by critics and fans alike, led up to this moment a mere three weeks into the film’s amazing run in theatres across the globe,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore. “Another great moment for Disney after what was a rather slow post-pandemic period for the studio.”
This third stand-alone feature starring Ryan Reynolds as the regenerating degenerate has already posted the highest opening of any film released in 2024 and holds the record for the highest debut of an R-rated film ever.
“Deadpool & Wolverine” is the first R-rated Marvel Cinematic Universe flick, as the previous two Deadpool films were produced and distributed by 20th Century Fox. Disney acquired that studio back in 2019.
It is also the second Disney film to top $1 billion at the global box office this year. Pixar’s “Inside Out 2” has generated more than $1.5 billion since its opening in June. Box office analysts expect “Deadpool & Wolverine” won’t be the last for the company this year, either. “Moana 2” is set to hit theaters over the Thanksgiving holiday and forecasts suggest it could also reach the billion-dollar mark.

These massive box office successes come after a string of misfires from Disney’s traditionally bulletproof franchises, including the lowest opening and lowest haul for a Marvel film ever. As Disney seeks to rebuild its reputation and recapture magic at the box office, it is relying heavily on existing, and beloved, franchises. During the company’s biannual D23 Expo, it shared details about upcoming titles from all of its studios.
This includes major animated sequels like “Toy Story 5,” “Zootopia 2,” “Frozen III” and “Incredibles 3,” as well as a slew of new Marvel titles like “Captain America: Brave New World,” “Thunderbolts*,” “The Fantastic 4: First Steps,” “Blade,” “Avengers: Doomsday” (previously titled “Avengers: Kang Dynasty) and “Avengers: Secret Wars.” There was also footage shown of “The Mandalorian and Grogu,” the first Star War film set to grace the big screen since “The Rise of Skywalker” in 2019.
It’s no surprise Disney is going back to the well with these films. The Toy Story franchise has generated $3.2 billion at the global box office, the two Frozen films surpassed $2.7 billion worldwide, the two Incredibles films tallied $1.8 billion globally, and “Zootopia” reached $1 billion worldwide during its run in 2016.
As for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it is the highest-grossing film franchise of all time, topping $30 billion at the global box office since 2008. And Star Wars has a solid track record, too, generating more than $10 billion in ticket sales since “A New Hope” hit theaters in 1977.
“The billion dollar box office club may not be the singular metric by which theatrical success is defined, but it is still emblematic of a film’s ability to capture the global zeitgeist,” said Shawn Robbins, founder and owner of Box Office Theory, a theatrical and box office consultation and analysis firm. “‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ has done that in a resounding way, making Disney and Marvel’s return to the ten-digit summit worth celebrating.” More