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May 2, 2023

Apple Savings Nears $1B Just Weeks After Launch

Apple’s latest endeavor to be a one-stop shop for all of life’s needs is proving to be a success. Forbes reported Monday that the tech giant’s just-launched savings account brought in as much as $990 million in deposits in the first four days, per two sources with knowledge on the matter. On launch day alone, the savings account drew nearly $400 million in deposits, as the company promised a 4.15% interest rate on the account. Customers are able to seamlessly connect accounts to their Apple Wallet to monitor their balance and interest earned.

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J.J. & Kealia Watt Join Burnley Ownership Group

Retired NFL star J.J. Watt and his wife, NWSL veteran Kealia Watt, are officially minority stakeholders in newly-promoted Premier League Burnley F.C., the club announced Monday. Per the release, the power couple will help the Clarets grow internationally, and Kealia specifically will focus on the development of Burnley’s women’s team, which played its first-ever game last weekend at the club’s longtime home ground of Turf Moor. The duo were in attendance for the team’s 3-0 victory against Wigan Athletic earlier this season.

Boardroom’s Shlomo Sprung has all the details on the Watts’ most recent business endeavor.

Writers Guild of America Headed for a Strike

The Writers Guild of America is headed for a strike. After months of negotiations, the WGA could not settle on a deal and will strike, beginning at 1 PM PST. As a result, live late night shows will go dark immediately. It marks the first strike for the organization since 2007, which lasted 100 days. Among the demands that could not be agreed upon include a bump to minimum pay, a guaranteed minimum number of weeks of employment for a single season, and a revised minimum number of writers in a show’s writers’ room. Additionally, the two sides grappled with the potential impact of artificial intelligence on screenwriting.

Click here to read more about the news from Boardroom’s Sam Dunn.

Investors Take Adidas to Court Over Kanye Deal

Adidas is still facing pushback from the now-defunct Yeezy partnership. According to the BBC, the Three Stripes is being sued by investors who allege the company was aware of Kanye West‘s concerning behavior for years before they severed ties with the rapper. Backers also claim the German brand failed to limit financial losses and move with caution in order to minimize their exposure. Instead, its profit plummeted 83% during its last quarter. Adidas ended its collaboration with the musician last year following a string of antisemitic remarks. In response to the suit, the sportswear giant retorted: “We outright reject these unfounded claims.”

NFL Draft Viewership Leaps 13% Over Last Year

The 2023 NFL Draft is in the books. According to an official release from the NFL, a total of 54.4 million viewers tuned in over the course of the three-day event. Overall, the Draft was seen by an average audience of 6.0 million viewers across ABC, ESPN, NFL Network, ESPN2, ESPN Deportes and related digital channels, reflecting a 13% increase from last year’s average (5.3 million). In person, a total of 312,000 fans attended the NFL Draft in Kansas City.

Six Pro Leagues Team Up for Mental Health Awareness Month

In honor of May being Mental Health Awareness Month, the NFL Players Association (NFLPA), National Basketball Players Association (NBPA), NHL Players’ Association (NHLPA), MLB Players Association (MLBPA), MLS Players Association (MLSPA), and Women’s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) announced a collaborative campaign to spotlight the occasion. The campaign aims to normalize mental health as a vital part of an individual’s general, physical health that affects people at various stages in life, athletes included. This initiative will hopefully show the human, less flashy side of sports but also further efforts to provide both athletes and their communities with the necessary support.

Ashton Kutcher and Guy Oseary Embark on an AI Sound Adventure

Guy Oseary and Ashton Kutcher’s venture capital firm, Sound Ventures, has closed a $240 million VC fund to invest in artificial intelligence startups. Sound Ventures is known for investing in companies built around emerging technologies, and its new Sound Ventures AI Fund is focused on investing in AI companies that are building machine learning models trained on large data sets. The new AI fund will invest alongside the firm’s other early-stage funds.

 

Boardroom’s Michelai Graham has all the details on the latest venture.

Peyton Manning’s Omaha Productions Doubles Down on Sportsbook-inspired Comedy

Peyton Manning is placing his bets on Vegas. The Hall of Famer’s newest project will center on the wacky hijinx of a Las Vegas sportsbook, as Deadline exclusively reported. What are the Odds? is the first scripted series produced by Manning’s Omaha Productions. The show was created by industry vets Sam Skavler and Kevin Hench, and will hit the airways on NBC.