☕ ESPN becomes a player

Here’s who’s still buying houses… November 14, 2023 [View Online]( | [Sign Up]( | [Shop]( [Morning Brew]( PRESENTED BY [AT&T]( Good morning. Yesterday we told you about free donuts (hope you scored some), and today we’re sharing another great deal that’s a little closer to home: Morning Brew Learning is now offering a limitless educational program. You’ll feel like Bradley Cooper with access to more than 100 hours of business education content, including 40+ courses, 24 events, and 12 toolkits, all designed to make you better at your job. By signing up for our All Access plan early, you’ll also save $200. Intrigued? [Learn more here](. —Dave Lozo, Sam Klebanov, Cassandra Cassidy, Abby Rubenstein, Neal Freyman MARKETS Nasdaq 13,767.74 -0.22% S&P 4,411.55 -0.08% Dow 34,337.87 +0.16% 10-Year 4.636% -0.9 bps Bitcoin $36,563.02 -1.37% Boeing $204.54 +4.01% *Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 4:00am ET. [Here's what these numbers mean.]( - Markets: Stocks were a [mixed bag]( yesterday as investors kept their eyes trained on Washington for the latest inflation data (dropping this morning) and to see whether lawmakers can hammer out a budget deal to keep the government from shutting down on Friday. - Stock spotlight: Boeing took off following reports that China may soon end its freeze on the 737 Max, as well as the announcement of several deals for new aircraft, including Emirates’s $52 billion order for 95 planes.  ENTERTAINMENT [ESPN is ready to play the odds]( [ESPN Bet logo surrounded by money]( Illustration: Cameron Abbas, Image: ESPN ESPN will launch ESPN Bet in 17 states [today]( hoping to break through the already crowded sports betting market. Its partner, Penn Entertainment, will pay ESPN $2 billion in cash and stock over the next 10 years to slap ESPN branding on its online and brick-and-mortar operation previously known as Barstool Sportsbook. Penn ended a similar agreement with Barstool Sports to team up with ESPN and looks to be chasing its losses—the company left its Barstool partnership [$923 million in the hole]( according to information filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. What could make this partnership profitable? When it comes to [market share]( over the past 12 months, it’s FanDuel (36%), DraftKings (33%) and everyone else. ESPN Bet is acquiring Barstool’s 3% share, believing it can flourish, even though Fox Bet, the sports-betting venture of another TV network, and other sportsbooks closed up shop recently. ESPN and Penn [outlined]( how they think ESPN Bet can become the Worldwide Leader in Sports Betting through... - Content integration. It started last night with the Monday Night Countdown pregame show and will likely never, ever end. - Potential existing clients. ESPN has 20 million fantasy sports users who could be converted into sports bettors (if they’re not already). - Ad blitz. When sports betting became legal in 2018, it felt like there was no escaping sportsbook commercials. ESPN could deploy that strategy again. Penn CEO Jay Snowden said he’d like to use Disney’s available retail space as well, which is good news for gamblers hoping to one day place a three-team parlay at the Magic Kingdom. What about ethics? ESPN is [taking measures]( avoid shenanigans by forbidding its insiders to bet on the sports they cover or appearing on the network’s daily gambling show. Among the many rules for its 5,000 employees: No betting on draft picks, which could be a direct response to The Athletic insider and FanDuel partner Shams Charania tweeting ultimately incorrect information that shifted betting lines ahead of the NBA draft this year.—DL   PRESENTED BY AT&T [Drive time is prime time]( [AT&T]( Whether you’re running errands or completing your daily commute, we log a lot of time behind the wheel. Your car needs to be [your happy place]( wants to drive around all day in anything but? [AT&T In-car Wi-Fi]( can help keep the good vibes rolling. Whether it’s streaming your fave playlist, switching on cartoons and games for the little ones in the back, or connecting to today’s staff meeting on the go, your car can be your secretary, your DJ, and your back-seat nanny all at once. Connect multiple devices and drive along to your own beat with [In-car WiFi for as low as $10/month](. WORLD [Tour de headlines](#) [The justices of the Supreme Court]Fred Schilling, Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States SCOTUS finally gets an official ethics code. The US Supreme Court officially [adopted]( a written ethics code yesterday for the first time, after several justices faced scandals over large gifts and incomplete financial disclosures. All other federal judges were already bound by an ethics code that doesn’t extend to the nine on the nation’s top court. In introducing their code, the justices stressed that “these rules and principles are not new” but were meant to clear up an incorrect notion that the most powerful interpreters of the law were lawless. However, it doesn’t include a way for the public to lodge complaints or a formal review mechanism for alleged violations. Exxon aims to become a major lithium producer for EV batteries. In its first big move outside the fossil fuel space in decades, Exxon yesterday [revealed plans]( to become a top lithium supplier by 2030. The company is preparing to establish a production facility in Arkansas that uses a novel extraction method. This could signal a shift in the industry since most lithium—an important component in electric car batteries—currently comes from Australia and South America and gets processed in China. Exxon expects to start production by 2027 and to have enough to power 1 million EVs a year by 2030. Stellantis offers buyouts to white-collar workers. Facing higher costs from the transition to electric vehicles and its new, tentative contract with the UAW, the Chrysler-maker is looking to slim down expenses by offering [voluntary separation packages]( to 6,400 of its 12,700 nonunion office staff. The company previously offered buyouts to hourly and salaried employees in the US and Canada, but that was before the autoworkers strike, which Stellantis said cost it $795 million. EDUCATION [US colleges welcomed a rush of students from India]( [College campus]( Al Seib/Getty Images A record number of people from India were loading up on Red Bull for all-nighters receiving a world-class education on American campuses during the last academic year. The country sent 35% more students stateside than the prior year, [boosting]( the US international student population almost completely back to its pre-pandemic high (~1.1 million), per a report from the Institute of International Education. According to the report... - About 269,000 Indian nationals studied in the US in 2022–2023, not far off the roughly 290,000 students from China, which is still the top source of foreign scholars. - Chinese student enrollment was stagnant year over year after having fallen due to pandemic travel restrictions, the country’s economic woes, and growing political tensions with the US. What’s driving the influx? India’s [economic boom]( and growing population expanded the contingent of US student visa holders. Most are enrolled as graduate students, with many pursuing STEM or business degrees. Their studies can really pay off: Just look at the resumes of Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Microsoft chief Satya Nadella, both of whom left India for grad school in the US. Aside from the value of cultural diversity…international students are a major source of revenue for US colleges, which is crucial as [domestic enrollment declines](   TOGETHER WITH KNIGHTSCOPE [Knightscope]( Make money while you sleep. Everyone could use some extra cash. That’s why [Knightscope]( bond offering is such an exciting opportunity—you could earn 10% annual interest for 5 years. That’s a potential $1k/year when you buy $10k worth of bonds. But move quickly: Only $10m in bonds are available. [Learn more and start earning interest today](. REAL ESTATE [Who’s buying a house in this economy?]( [Collage of hands holding house keys]( Illustration: Cameron Abbas, Photo: Getty Images A report released yesterday by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) [confirms]( what many Americans know to be true: Home affordability is in the gutter. Due to rising interest rates and low inventory, NAR found that the average income of a homebuyer between July 2022 and June 2023 was $107,000, up from $88,000 the year prior—one of the highest levels since NAR started tracking in 1981. But the housing market continues to churn. The organization found… - More and more homebuyers are single women. The share of single women buying homes is almost double that of men. They’re also slightly older—a single woman buying her first home is 38 on average, while a single man is 33. - Buyers are older. The average first-time homebuyer is 35, up from 29 in the 1980s, but it’s older people who are buying up the three-bedrooms after selling their starter homes: NAR found that the median age of a repeat homebuyer last year was 58. In 1981, it was 36. You may hear more about NAR soon. If a recent [jury verdict]( finding the organization conspired with brokerages to inflate commissions holds up on appeal, commissions could decrease as much as 30%, according to the Wall Street Journal, and it could mean [other shake-ups]( in the real estate industry.—CC   GRAB BAG [Key performance indicators](#) [The main character in NCIS saluting]NCIS/CBS via Giphy Stat: Australia has something to brag about today besides Tim Tams and venomous spiders: It now boasts the first international installment of the mega-popular NCIS franchise, NCIS: Sydney. While NCIS may not exactly be prestige TV, it does draw eyeballs: More than [300 million people]( watched some version of the show last year, according to the Wall Street Journal. Almost 1,000 episodes have been made, and the original series averaged ~10 million viewers an episode last season, per Nielsen—though at its height during the 2012–2013 TV season, it got more than 21 million. Quote: “Our lives are pretty normal.” That’s how Lauren Sánchez, whose fiancé, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, has a wooden sculpture of her decorating the prow of his $500 million yacht, described the couple’s day to day in a recent Vogue [profile](. Sánchez described a routine that involved making each other coffee, driving a teenage daughter to school, family movie nights, and struggling to commit to journaling, but…the former newscaster (who now focuses more on flying helicopters) also detailed her plans to ride a Blue Origin Rocket into space next year. Read: Strip clubs, lewd photos, and a boozy hotel: the toxic atmosphere at bank regulator FDIC. ([Wall Street Journal]( NEWS [What else is brewing](#) - [President Biden]( said hospitals in Gaza must be protected as fighting continued around Gaza City’s main medical facility, Al Shifa Hospital. Israel claims that Hamas has a command complex underneath, which Hamas denies. - [Los Angeles]( is facing even worse traffic than usual after a massive fire over the weekend, which authorities now believe was arson, caused the indefinite closure of Interstate 10. - [Google]( is suing to block alleged scammers from pushing out ads for a fake Google AI chatbot that it claims actually downloaded malware onto people’s computers. - [Nepal]( banned TikTok, saying the app disrupted the country’s social harmony. - [Crocs and McDonald’s]( are releasing a limited-edition shoe collab for when you want to show your devotion to Grimace beyond braving the shake. RECS [Tuesday To Do List] It’s Transgender Awareness Week: Here are [tips]( for being an A1 ally to the trans people in your life, the hilarious essay collection [Something That May Shock and Discredit You]( and quality podcasts [The Knew Guys]( and [The Girl God Experience](. Watch: How the tobacco industry got the world [hooked on snacks](. Go beyond pumpkin: 50 delicious [pie recipes](. Smile, Fido: Tips from professional photographers to take better [pictures of your pet](. What’s your ride worth? Find out with [Edmunds]( free online appraisal tool and get an accurate vehicle valuation in a flash—aaand a no-obligation offer from a dealer. Talk about a [one-stop shop]( Stay in the IPO-know: Going public can be the most momentous—and intense—endeavor a biz undergoes. [Fidelity SPS]( joins CFO Brew to discuss the pros and cons of IPOs + equity solutions. [Watch the chat]( *A message from our sponsor. GAMES [The puzzle section](#) Brew Mini: Today’s crossword features LA suburbs, Marvel actors, and a type of tea. See if you can beat Neal’s time of 47 seconds. [Play it here](. TV S.H.O.W. trivia NCIS is just one of many popular TV shows that have acronyms or initialisms in their titles. We’ll give you the TV show, and you have to write out what the abbreviation stands for. - CSI - Law & Order: SVU - M*A*S*H* - JAG - NCIS (kinda have to) - Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. SHARE THE BREW [Share Morning Brew]( with your friends, acquire free Brew swag, and then acquire more friends as a result of your fresh Brew swag. We’re saying we’ll give you free stuff and more friends if you share a link. One link. Your referral count: 0 [Click to Share]( Or copy & paste your referral link to others: [morningbrew.com/daily/r/?kid=a905682a]( ANSWER 1. Crime Scene Investigation 2. Special Victims Unit 3. Mobile Army Surgical Hospital 4. Judge Advocate General 5. Naval Criminal Investigative Service 6. Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division Word of the Day Today’s Word of the Day is: initialisms, meaning “abbreviations formed from initial letters where the individual letters are all pronounced distinctly.” Thanks to Georgina Parson-Smalls from New Paltz, New York (or GPS, as we like to call her) for the suggestion. Submit another [Word of the Day here](. ✢ A Note From AT&T *Based on independent third-party data. Requires eligible car and wireless service plan. Additional restrictions apply. ✳︎ A Note From Knightscope This is a paid advertisement for Knightscope, Inc.’s Reg A offering. Please read the offering circular at [(. Written by [Neal Freyman]( [Abigail Rubenstein]( Dave Lozo, [Cassandra Cassidy]( and Sam Klebanov Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up [here](. 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