Hello! According to a new report, around 50% of 11- to 17-year-olds receive at least 237 notifications every single day… or 238 on days when the Chartr newsletter goes out. Today we’re exploring:
Keys to the Magic Kingdom
Bad news for everyone using a friend’s account to rewatch Frozen or keep up with the ever-expanding Star Wars universe: Disney+ is the latest streamer to start cracking down on password sharing.
In a strongly-worded email to Canadian subscribers, the company laid out vague plans to “implement restrictions” stopping users from sharing login details with anyone outside of their household after November 1st — a move Disney will likely roll out worldwide soon.
Sub-standard
Tenants currently living rent-free in the House of Mouse will have to cough up or pack up, with the cost of a premium monthly subscription set to jump 27% — from $10.99 to $13.99 — on October 12th for US customers. The policy and price changes come as Bob Iger looks to drag the streaming service out of the red: losses have risen to over $11 billion since the service launched in 2019.
While getting the streamer to profitability by 2024 was always the intention, some parts of the plan haven’t been shaking out exactly as execs had expected. Back in August 2022, when Disney still set subscriber forecasts, it set a goal of 215-245 million for 2024, which the company now reportedly expects to fall tens of millions short of.
Indeed, largely thanks to shedding subscribers in India after losing vital streaming rights to its national cricket league, Plus’s sub count has actually been trending in the wrong direction, finishing the third quarter with just 146.1 million — 18 million fewer than they had at the end of last year.
Don’t sweat the competition
Fitness giants Lululemon and Peloton are teaming up, announcing a 5-year partnership on Wednesday, releasing a line of co-branded clothing, while Peloton will produce content for Lululemon's exercise app The deal comes after years of both companies slowly encroaching on the other’s part of the fitness market.
In 2020, clothing giant Lululemon spent $500 million acquiring Mirror — a $995 device that allows users to work out in front of a huge, mirror-like 43-inch screen, signaling that Lululemon's intention to compete with Peloton during the peak of the pandemic-fuelled at-home fitness craze. Peloton then charged headfirst into the world of apparel, eventually triggering a legal battle with Lululemon over borrowed designs, before the matter was settled out of court.
Mirror, mirror on the wall
Leggings were most profitable, after all. That’s the likely conclusion of any recent Lululemon board meetings, as the company throws in the towel on its Mirror product entirely, stopping hardware sales by the end of 2023.
Of the two companies, the tie-up is a much bigger deal for Peloton (investors agreed) as shares in the fitness equipment company have lost a lot of their former shape — the company’s market cap is down 97% from its pandemic peak, as gyms re-opened and product issues rocked the company. Lululemon’s stock, on the other hand, has mostly held onto its pandemic gains — demand for premium gym wear hasn’t gone anywhere.
Surviving
Survivor — the reality show that drops a group of total strangers on a remote island where they must build shelter, hunt for food, and compete in various physical and mental challenges — was back on CBS for a staggering 45th season on Wednesday.
Episodes will run for an extended 90 minutes this season, as competitors battle it out to take home the $1 million prize — “50% more show”, as Jeff Probst, who’s been at the helm for every edition since Survivor’s US debut 23 years ago, put it.
Thriving
Although British TV producer Charlie Parsons developed the show in 1992, it didn’t make it to screens until 5 years later when it aired as Expedition Robinson on Swedish television. It’s been adapted in multiple languages for over 25 countries since then, including the US, where fans and critics often hail it as an all-time great of the reality television genre.
With some 649 episodes since it first hit American airwaves on May 31, 2000, Survivor is one of the most prolific shows in American history, and its IMDb ratings have stayed pretty consistent through the show’s extensive run. Indeed, Survivor has averaged a 7.56 rating across the 649 episodes, with just one season — 2021’s S41 when the show returned after an 18-month hiatus — rated below 6. Conversely, the 2015 season titled Cambodia - Second Chance, where previous contestants returned to take the island again, is the highest-rated series with an 8.4 average rating.
• A NASA astronaut has returned after a record-breaking 371 consecutive days in space, where he orbited Earth almost 6,000 times.
• As a potential government shutdown looms, the House has approved an amendment to cut the Secretary of Defense's salary to $1.
• Ogre and out: Airbnb is offering a free 2-night getaway in an exact replica of Shrek's cottage in the Highlands.
• Visualizing 24 hours in the loneliness epidemic.
• Great viz deep dive on the evolution of beer.
Off the charts: An heir to the family fortune behind which clothing giant just launched their campaign to become San Francisco mayor? [Answer below].
