The connected fitness market is quickly growing and ICON's streaming fitness service iFit recently raised $200 million to invest in technology, expand its content library, and reach more potential users.
"Where we are very distinctive in this exploding connected fitness marketplace is that iFit is interactive. iFit is interactive with equipment, with our trainers, with our workouts, and with our members," ICON Health and Fitness Vice President of Marketing Colleen Logan told Cheddar.
Logan says the iFit technology is so interactive that users will not have to "imagine" a workout destination — the streaming service will take you there. "We don't have you imagine you're climbing the mountain. What we do is actually take you to the mountain, so we take our crews and our mountaineers and we shoot the whole trek," Logan said.
The technology also allows users to feel the mountain. "Our technology actually controls the incline and decline of the treadmill so as you start out in the rainforest or as you make your way up the summit you're feeling the incline and decline as the exact topography," Logan said.
As the connected space continues to grow with competitors like Peleton, Logan says with new capital they now have the opportunity to take advantage of the connected fitness trend and offer a range of products.
"While a lot of people in the connected fitness space offer one product at one price point we have tremendous range because we don't think fitness should be a luxury," Logan said.
Nvidia on Wednesday became the first public company to reach a market capitalization of $5 trillion. The ravenous appetite for the Silicon Valley company’s chips is the main reason that the company’s stock price has increased so rapidly since early 2023.
Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global, breaks down September’s CPI print and inflation trends, explaining what it means for markets.
A big-screen adaptation of the anime “Chainsaw Man” has topped the North American box office, beating a Springsteen biopic and “Black Phone 2.” The movie earned $17.25 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. “Black Phone 2” fell to second place with $13 million. Two new releases, the rom-com “Regretting You” and “Springsteen — Deliver Me From Nowhere,” earned $12.85 million and $9.1 million, respectively. “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is based on the manga series about a demon hunter. It's another win for Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which also released a “Demon Slayer” film last month that debuted to a record $70 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago. The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. The president of the International Association of Machinists says Sunday's outcome shows Boeing hasn't adequately addressed wages and retirement benefits. Boeing says Sunday's vote was close with 51% of union members opposing the revised offer.
