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The NBA is seeing greater interest than ever from international fans for the new season, expecting fans from 214 countries to tune into games this year.
The league is instituting a three-pronged approach to appeal to international fans, including an initiative to air games during primetime in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
This season, a record number of 125 international players are on opening-night rosters.

Nikola Jokic, #15 of the Denver Nuggets, shoots the ball against Bones Hyland, #5, and Norman Powell, #24, of the Los Angeles Clippers during the second half of a preseason game at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on October 19, 2023.
Kevork Djansezian | Getty Images

As the National Basketball Association’s new season tips off this week, the league is seeing more international interest than ever.
The NBA said it expects fans from more than 200 countries to tune in to games in more than 50 languages this season, with interest across international markets increasing significantly from last season.

Global business accounts for about 10% of total team and league revenue, according to a person familiar with the matter. It hit an all-time high last year and the NBA expects more growth this year, said the person, who wasn’t authorized to publicly discuss the information.
To cater to the rise in international demand, the league is instituting a three-pronged approach, including an initiative to air games during primetime in certain global markets, bolster programs for kids and sharpen its focus on particular regions such as India.
“We’re meeting that demand by making it as easy as possible for international fans to follow the league and their favorite teams and players, whether on linear television, social media or digital platforms like the NBA App,” said Matt Brabants, senior vice president and head of international content partnerships for the NBA.
A significant factor driving the surge in international interest is the number of international players taking part in the league this season, according to Samantha Engelhardt, the NBA’s senior vice president of global strategy and innovation.
This season, the NBA has a record number of international players join opening-night rosters at a total of 125 international players from 40 countries and territories across six continents, including fan favorites such as Nikola Jokić of Serbia, who led last year’s champion Denver Nuggets to an opening night win Tuesday, and the Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo of Greece. The league’s No. 1 draft pick this year, the San Antonio Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama of France, has been surging in popularity as fans and experts alike call him a once-in-a-generation talent.

“They’re driving such significant interest in their home countries and around the world,” Engelhardt said. “Last season, we saw TV viewership grow in several European countries, and it’s no surprise that those countries are consistent with where we’re seeing the great European players playing and driving interest in their region.”
Brabants added that TV viewership of NBA games in Serbia was up 50% year over year last season because Jokić “captured the country’s attention with his incredible play” as he led the Nuggets to their first championship.
This season, all 30 NBA teams feature at least one international player, and 15 international players on opening-night rosters have been NBA All-Stars.

What’s the NBA’s international plan?

As the NBA prepares to cater to a new demographic, Engelhardt said the league is utilizing a three-pronged approach:
Global outreach to kids: The league is focused on creating opportunities for children across the globe to participate in basketball with programs such as Basketball Without Borders and NBA Basketball School, she said, the former of which has seen “tremendous success.” Of the record number of international players this season, around 40 participated in Basketball Without Borders prior to making it to the professional court.
More accessible live games: The NBA is bringing the basketball experience to international fans through events, merchandise, branded attractions and live games, Engelhardt said. To enhance the viewing experience for fans in time zones in Europe, Brabants said the league has instituted an initiative called “NBA Saturdays and Sundays” to air more games in European primetime, as well as the Middle East and Africa.
Sharper market focus: The final part of the international strategy involves making NBA programming more accessible and localized, which includes bolstering its social media community. Nearly 70% of the league’s followers are from outside the U.S. In Brazil, Prime Video — the official media partner of the NBA — will exclusively stream 123 live regular season games. The partnership also included a viewing party of the season kickoff Tuesday at the NBA Store Arena in Sao Paulo, a 1,500 square meter retail space that sold NBA products and hosted interactive experiences and events.

French basketball player Victor Wembanyama gestures while arriving at San Antonio International Airport in San Antonio, Texas, on June 23, 2023.
Patrick T. Fallon | AFP | Getty Images

The league is also catering to specific markets, such as in India, where it has partnered with Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh to celebrate the cultural significance of basketball in the country, Brabants said. The NBA also has more than 400 international branded stores, such as Brazil’s NBA Park, which opened last November.
The international reach plays a significant role in the NBA’s strategy as it looks to craft its next media deal. League officials have previously relayed their interest in broadening the NBA’s reach through television and media across the world.
“We saw record digital and social consumption in several markets across Asia including India — which surpassed 100 million unique viewers across linear television, social media and digital media platforms for the first time ever — and the Philippines, where the league generated a record 923 million engagements across our localized social media accounts,” Brabants said.
The league has previously had an uneasy relationship with China, which had stopped airing NBA games after a dispute sparked by a Houston Rockets executive sharing an image supporting pro-democracy protestors in Hong Kong. However, Engelhardt said the market remains an important focus for the NBA as it finds ways to make programming accessible.
As international interest in North American basketball continues to rise, Brabants said the league is continuing to assess what its international fans need as the league comes off the most competitive regular season in its history.
“Our international fans are not only passionate, but they are also very knowledgeable and sophisticated — they follow the same storylines and news that resonate in the U.S.,” he said.Don’t miss these CNBC PRO stories: More

GM and Honda have canceled plans to jointly develop affordable electric vehicles as they face slower-than-expected demand and changing market conditions.
The partnership was expected to use GM’s next-generation Ultium battery technology to produce millions of EVs that cost less than $30,000 for global markets, beginning in 2027.
The cancellation is the latest in a growing number of decisions by automakers to scale back or scrap previously announced EV plans.

The 2024 Honda Prologue is one of two EVs being made by General Motors for the Japanese automaker, utilizing its Ultium battery technologies.

DETROIT – General Motors and Honda Motor have canceled plans to jointly develop affordable electric vehicles as they face slower-than-expected demand and changing market conditions.
The unwinding of the tie-up roughly a year and a half after it was announced is the latest in a string of decisions by automakers, specifically GM, to scale back or cancel previously announced EV plans.

The partnership was expected to use GM’s next-generation Ultium battery technology to produce millions of EVs that cost less than $30,000 for global markets beginning in 2027. They were set to include popular compact crossover vehicles.
Since the automakers first announced the partnership, the outlook for EVs has dimmed due to higher costs, lack of infrastructure and slower-than-expected consumer demand.
“After extensive studies and analysis, we have come to a mutual decision to discontinue the program. Each company remains committed to affordability in the EV market,” GM spokesman Darryll Harrison said in an email. “Each company remains committed to affordability in the EV market.”

Harrison said the cancellation of the program “is not connected with our plans to introduce a next generation Bolt.” However, GM CEO Mary Barra referenced the Bolt as a better option when discussing the cancellation of a $5 billion capital commitment for entry-level EVs during an earnings call Tuesday with investors.
“Our prior portfolio plans included several newly designed vehicles in the entry-level segments and a capital commitment of $5 billion over the next several years,” she said. “However, by leveraging the best attributes of today’s Bolt EUV as well as Ultium … we will deliver an even better driving, charging and ownership experience with a vehicle we know customers love.”

Current Chevrolet Bolt models start under $30,000 without any EV incentives.
Harrison said other partnerships between the companies, including a deal for GM to build the 2024 Honda Prologue EV, continue. The companies also have partnerships around hydrogen fuel cells and autonomous vehicles.
The companies confirmed they would end the affordable EV effort after GM scaled back some near-term EV targets, announced delays in production of at least three upcoming EVs and disclosed additional details about postponing the build-out of a second all-electric truck plant in Michigan until late 2025.
“We’re really focusing on making sure that we’re driving toward demand targets,” GM CFO Paul Jacobson said during a media briefing for the automaker’s third-quarter earnings. “We’re balancing production to demand.”
Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe told Bloomberg Television on Tuesday that the company determined the affordable EV program “would be difficult as a business.”
Honda did not immediately respond for a request for comment on the cancellation of the plans. More

IMAX said major films such as “Oppenheimer” and “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One” contributed to its profit in the third quarter.
Revenue also surged more than 50% during the period.
Chief Financial Officer Natasha Fernandes added that the company’s operating cash flow is more than three times what it was last year.

IMAX on Wednesday posted third-quarter earnings showing its second highest-grossing quarter ever at the global box office, led by Universal’s “Oppenheimer.”
Shares of the company rose slightly.

Here’s how the company performed in the third quarter compared to Wall Street estimates:

Earnings per share: 22 cents vs. 23 cents per share, expected, according to LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv
Revenue: $103.9 million vs. $100.7 million, expected, according to LSEG

The movie company reported a net income of $12 million, or 22 cents a share, versus a loss of $9 million, or 16 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue was $103.9 million, up 51% year over year.
Even as entertainment pushes forward into a post-pandemic era, with streaming dominant, IMAX CEO Richard Gelfond said the company’s strength shows the theatrical experience is not dead.
“We’ve really delivered this quarter across every imaginable index, whether it’s financial, or whether it’s signing, or whether it’s our position in the ecosystem, or even in small ways many of you don’t see which is in our leverage in the day-to-day business,” Gelfond said on an earnings call Wednesday. “I’ve certainly rarely been as confident as I am today.”
Key contributors to the third quarter’s growth included Hollywood titles such as “Oppenheimer,” which raked in more than $180 million in revenue, along with “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One” and “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.” Local language films also contributed to the company’s summer success, including Chinese title “Creation of the Gods: Kingdom of Storms” and India’s “Jawan.”

The quarter was behind only the fourth quarter of 2019, when “Joker” and “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” opened, in terms of grosses, IMAX said.
In the third quarter, IMAX also generated 120 new signings for new and upgraded IMAX systems across the world.
“It is truly the best of times at IMAX. The company delivered a record performance in the third quarter,” Gelfond said during the call. “We’ve seen many good quarters, but few have exceeded our expectations like this.”
Chief Financial Officer Natasha Fernandes added that the company’s operating cash flow is more than three times what it was last year.
Looking to next year, IMAX expects “some movement” due to effects felt from the Hollywood actors’ strike, Gelfond said. But the company is optimistic that upcoming titles such as IMAX-shot “Dune: Part 2,” now slated for a March 2024 release, combined with this quarter’s growth, will anchor the first-quarter box office.
IMAX sees the shifting release dates as an opening for opportunities to show other films, Gelfond said on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” on Wednesday morning. But if the strike continues into next year, he said he sees it becoming a “more serious issue” — though he expects the dust to settle soon.
“It all depends on when it gets resolved. In the first half of the year, there’s a lot of content that’s pretty much locked. It’s the second-half things that need to be reshot and obviously, you need the actors for promotion, so I think if it settles in the next month or so, it’ll be OK,” he said.
The company is also expecting great success from a new era of concert films, spearheaded by “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour,” which has racked up big grosses, and “Renaissance: A Film by Beyonce,” which is due in December.
Disclosure: NBCUniversal, the parent company of CNBC, also owns Universal Pictures, which released “Oppenheimer.”Don’t miss these CNBC PRO stories: More

JetBlue Airways plans to begin flights to Dublin and Edinburgh from the U.S. as part of the carrier’s trans-Atlantic expansion.
Tickets for the newly offered destinations went on sale Wednesday.
The airline also announced plans to expand its offerings to Paris beginning next March.

JetBlue Airways aircraft are pictured at departure gates at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York on June 15, 2013.
Fred Prouser | Reuters

JetBlue Airways plans to begin flights to Dublin and Edinburgh from the U.S. as part of the carrier’s trans-Atlantic expansion.
Tickets for the newly offered destinations went on sale Wednesday.

Daily seasonal service to Dublin will begin March 13, 2024, from the airline’s John F. Kennedy International Airport hub in New York, as well as from Boston Logan International Airport. Flights to Edinburgh from New York’s JFK will begin May 22, 2024. All three routes will be flown until Sep. 30, 2024, JetBlue said.
“Our summer seasonal service to Dublin and Edinburgh will bring a new level of service and affordable fares to these markets that have been dominated by high-fare legacy carriers for decades,” said CEO Robin Hayes in a news release.
JetBlue has long planned service to Europe with some of its longer-range jets, a strategy that aims to chip away at demand largely controlled by larger competitors such as American Airlines, Delta and United, along with their European partners.
JetBlue executives have said they want to win over consumers, in part through its revamped “Mint” business-class cabins. Its trans-Atlantic service began with service to London from New York in 2021.
JetBlue also said Wednesday that the airline would offer service between Boston Logan International Airport and Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport starting April 3, 2024. The company will also add a second daily flight to Paris from New York’s JFK beginning June 20, 2024.

The airline first began service to Paris this past summer. At the time, it was the carrier’s second European destination.

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Boeing said Wednesday it will deliver fewer 737 Max aircraft than it expected this year.
The company is working through production flaws detected on some of the bestselling aircraft.
The manufacturer also reported a wider-than-expected adjusted loss for its third quarter.

Boeing’s new 737 MAX-9 is pictured under construction at their production facility in Renton, Washington, Feb. 13, 2017.
Jason Redmond | Reuters

Boeing said Wednesday it will deliver fewer 737 Max aircraft than it previously expected this year as it works through production flaws detected on some of the bestselling aircraft.
The company expects to hand over between 375 and 400 of its workhorse plane this year, down from a previous estimate of 400 to 450, which Boeing’s CFO reaffirmed during a conference last month. It marks a headwind for Boeing and for airline customers eager to receive new, more fuel-efficient jetliners.

Boeing maintained its expectations for 2023 free cash flow of $3 billion to $5 billion, despite the production problems. The company’s shares rose more than 3% in premarket trading after Boeing reported results.
“I have heard those outside our company wondering if we’ve lost a step. I view it as quite the opposite,” CEO Dave Calhoun said in an employee note Wednesday, as the company reported third-quarter results. “Most importantly, we’ve worked hard to instill a culture of speaking up and transparently bringing forward any issue, no matter the size, so we can get things right for the future.”
He said the company now can fix those issues “once and for all.”
Boeing has been working to increase output of new planes to meet demand for a recovery in air travel after the Covid pandemic. Budget carrier Ryanair, for one, recently cut its winter schedule, blaming delivery delays from Boeing.
Sales in the manufacturer’s commercial aircraft unit rose 25% to $7.88 billion from the third quarter of 2022, boosted by deliveries of wide-body 787 Dreamliner planes, though lower 737 deliveries and abnormal production costs led to a negative operating margin of 8.6%.

Boeing said it plans to ramp up output of the 737 to 38 planes per month by year’s end and said it is transitioning to Dreamliner production of five per month. It reaffirmed its estimate to hand over 70 to 80 Dreamliners this year.
Its defense unit was also losing money in part from a $482 million loss on its Air Force One program because of “higher estimated manufacturing cost related to engineering changes and labor instability,” as well as a $315 million loss on a satellite contract.
Here’s how the company performed during the period ended Sept. 30, compared with estimates from LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv:

Adjusted loss per share: $3.26 vs. $2.96
Revenue: $18.10 billion vs. $18.01 billion

Boeing’s net loss narrowed to nearly $1.64 billion, or $2.70 a share, for the third quarter compared with the year-earlier period when it had a loss of $3.31 billion, or $5.49 a share. Adjusting for one-time items, mostly related to pension plans, the company lost $3.26 per share, a wider-than-expected adjusted loss.
Revenue rose 13% from the same three-month period a year ago to $18.10 billion, slightly ahead of analysts’ estimates.
Boeing will hold a call with analysts at 10:30 a.m. ET when executives will face questions about its production pace, demand and how it expects to improve margins in its defense unit.
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A vaccine from GlaxoSmithKline showed the potential to protect adults ages 50 to 59 from respiratory syncytial virus in a late-stage clinical trial.
The preliminary trial results suggest that GSK’s shot could help protect a wider population from RSV, which causes thousands of hospitalizations and deaths among older Americans each year.
The shot, known as Arexvy, is approved in the U.S., Europe, Japan and other countries for adults ages 60 and older. 

Johanna Geron | Reuters

A vaccine from GlaxoSmithKline showed the potential to protect adults ages 50 to 59 from respiratory syncytial virus in a late-stage clinical trial, the company said Wednesday.
The initial trial results suggest that GSK’s shot, known as Arexvy, could help protect a wider population from RSV, a disease that causes thousands of hospitalizations and deaths among older Americans each year. Currently, Arexvy is approved in the U.S., Europe, Japan and other countries for adults ages 60 and older. 

A single dose of the British drugmaker’s shot elicited an immune response in adults ages 50 to 59 who are at an increased risk of catching RSV due to certain underlying medical conditions. 
The immune response wasn’t worse than that observed in adults 60 and above, GSK said in a release. A previous late-stage trial on that older age group found that the shot was nearly 83% effective at preventing lower respiratory tract disease caused by RSV.
Safety data in adults ages 50 to 59 was also consistent with data in adults 60 and above, according to GSK.
GSK said it plans to present final results from the trial at an upcoming medical conference and submit them for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. The company added that it is “on track” to become the first company to submit data on this age group to the Food and Drug Administration and other regulators and expects a decision on a potential label expansion in 2024. 
“We will submit these data for regulatory review as quickly as possible with the goal of offering adults in this age group the option of a vaccine for the first time,” Tony Wood, GSK’s chief scientific officer, said in a release. 

Pfizer is the only other company with an approved RSV vaccine on the market. The company’s shot is approved for adults 60 and older and expectant mothers who can pass on protection to their fetuses.
Pfizer did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether it will present its own data on adults ages 50 to 59.
U.S. health officials are banking on the shots from Pfizer and GSK shots to help the country combat this year’s RSV season. RSV and other respiratory viruses such as the flu are already starting to circulate, but so far at lower rates than this time last year, the CDC said last week. 
The U.S. suffered an unusually severe RSV season last year. Cases of the virus in children and older adults overwhelmed hospitals across the country, largely because the public stopped practicing Covid pandemic health measures that had helped keep the spread of RSV low. 
RSV usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms. But each year the virus kills 6,000 to 10,000 seniors and a few hundred children younger than 5, according to the CDC. More

The Ultimate Fighting Championship and Anheuser-Busch are back in business, as they announced a new marketing partnership.
The deal, which goes into effect Jan. 1, comes as the brewer tries to reverse a slump in Bud Light sales spurred by conservative backlash over its partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
Bud Light replaces Modelo Especial, which struck a partnership with the mixed martial arts company in 2017.

Bud Light, made by Anheuser-Busch, sits on a store shelf in Miami on July 27, 2023.
Joe Raedle | Getty Images

Anheuser-Busch InBev’s Bud Light will again become the official beer sponsor for the Ultimate Fighting Championship with a six-year marketing partnership, the companies announced Tuesday.
The sponsorship deal is “well into the nine figures,” and the largest in the mixed martial arts promotion’s history, a source familiar with the deal told CNBC on Tuesday.

As part of the agreement, Bud Light will receive exclusive and prominent branding at UFC fights and events, as well as in-arena promotion. In addition, the brewer will collaborate on original content for UFC’s digital and social channels.
The deal goes into effect Jan. 1.
The agreement comes on the heels of a conservative boycott against Anheuser-Busch’s Bud Light that began this spring when the brand partnered with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney. The backlash put a dent in sales for the beer in the weeks that followed. At the height of the backlash, Modelo Especial dethroned Bud Light as the best-selling beer in the U.S.
With the deal, Anheuser-Busch reestablishes ties with an organization perceived to have a more conservative political bent than many other U.S. sports leagues. UFC CEO Dana White donated at least $1 million to a political action committee that supported Donald Trump’s 2020 presidential campaign, and the ex-president appeared at a UFC event in Las Vegas earlier this year.
Anheuser-Busch’s relationship with UFC dates back to 2008. In 2017, the mixed martial arts company took on the fast-growing Modelo as its official beer sponsor.

Bud Light will now replace Modelo, which is distributed by Constellation Brands.
“Anheuser-Busch and Bud Light have always been on the cutting edge of iconic sporting moments that fans remember forever, and reuniting with UFC is a continuation of this industry leading legacy,” Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth said in a statement.
The UFC, which is owned by the newly formed TKO Group Holdings Inc., reaches an audience of more than 700 million fans, the companies said. The partnership grants Bud Light visibility in an estimated 900 million TV households in more than 170 countries.
“Anheuser-Busch and Bud Light were UFC’s original beer sponsors more than fifteen years ago. I’m proud to announce we are back in business together,” White said.
“There are many reasons why I chose to go with Anheuser-Busch and Bud Light, most importantly because I feel we are very aligned when it comes to our core values and what the UFC brand stands for,” he added.Don’t miss these CNBC PRO stories: More

An arbitration panel awarded Nikola $165 million in damages from its founder and ex-CEO Trevor Milton.
Milton left the company in 2020 and was subsequently convicted of fraud related to false statements he made about Nikola’s tech.
Nikola had to pay $125 million to settle related charges in 2021.

Nikola’s founder and former CEO, Trevor Milton, was found guilty on three counts of fraud in October 2022.
Massimo Pinca | Reuters

Shares of electric truck maker Nikola traded higher Tuesday after the company said in a regulatory filing that its disgraced founder, Trevor Milton, has been ordered to pay the company about $165 million in damages.
Shares closed up about 9%, trading at a little more than $1. The company’s market value was about $375 million as of Tuesday’s close.

Nikola said an arbitration panel in New York determined last week that Nikola was due the funds for “costs and damages arising from actions that were the subject of government and regulatory investigations, including the December 2021 Securities and Exchange Commission settlement and associated civil penalty.”
Nikola agreed in December 2021 to pay the SEC $125 million to settle charges that it defrauded investors by misleading them about its products, technical capacity and business prospects.
Nikola said in a statement that it intends to seek reimbursement for its attorneys’ fees as well.
Milton, who founded Nikola in 2014 and served as its CEO and executive chair, resigned in September 2020 after short seller Hindenburg Research accused Nikola of making false statements about its technologies to boost its stock and secure partnerships with major automakers.  
Milton was found guilty in federal court last year on three counts of fraud related to statements he made while leading the company. He is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 28.

Nikola will report its third-quarter results before the U.S. markets open Nov. 2.Don’t miss these CNBC PRO stories: More