In this Feb. 7, 2013 photo, a man walks past a shuttered New York Sports Club on Water St. in New York. Town Sports International Holdings Inc., the owner of New York Sports Club and Lucille Roberts filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Monday, Sept. 14, 2020, as gym operators struggle to keep afloat amid nationwide shutdowns. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)
By Damian J. Troise
The company that runs New York Sports Club and Lucille Roberts gyms filed for bankruptcy protection with COVID-19, still prevalent in man parts of the U.S., gutting membership rolls at fitness companies nationwide.
Gold's Gym sought bankruptcy protection in May and 24 Hour Fitness Worldwide filed for bankruptcy in June. Many companies, including Planet Fitness, furloughed workers in order to conserve cash.
Town Sports International Holdings Inc., which also operates Washington Sports Club and Total Woman Gym and Spa, said Monday that it can no longer pay its debts.
The company lost $136 million during the first quarter this year, only a fraction of which included state- and city-mandated shutdowns of retail shops, gyms, salons, restaurants, and bars. By the end of the three-month reporting period, 95 percent of Town Sports' clubs had been closed.
Town Sports operates 185 clubs and serves 580,000 members, mostly in the Northeast.
Gyms have been allowed to reopen at a fraction of their capacity in some regions like the Northeast. Those who do go to gyms in New York City are required to wear a mask at all times and gyms can only operate at one-third capacity. Group fitness classes are still not permitted.
Yet with more than 33,000 COVID-19 related deaths in New York, most of them in New York City, thousands of one-time gymgoers have taken their routines outdoors, or to their own homes.
Home fitness company Peloton reported a 172 percent surge in revenue during its most recent quarter and it doubled its subscribers. Bike shops in New York, as well as most outdoor fitness gear sellers, have been largely cleared out.
AdTheorent just the latest company to go public via a SPAC. The company specializes in digital advertising, using AI and machine learning as a tool to move marketing forward. AdTheorent to close its SPAC merger with MCAP Acquisition today and will trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol ADTH. CEO Jim Lawson spoke with Cheddar ahead of the move.
Although still early in development, blockchain technology, Web3, also known as Web 3.0 has been getting a lot of attention from some top tech names lately. Web3 is based on blockchain technology, which powers NFT’s and cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin. With Web3, users would ideally control their own data, rather than have it be controlled by a few large companies. But, Tesla CEO Elon musk isn't buying into Web3 just yet, tweeting over the weekend that the decentralized iteration of the internet seems more like a marketing "buzzword" right now than reality. Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey also chiming in to the conversation, expressing doubt over whether or not Web3 would actually be decentralized if ownership still belonged to venture capital firms. Parker McCurley, co-founder & CEO of Decent Labs explains the significance of Web3 catching the eye of the tech giants, and what Web3 could mean for the future of the internet.
The FDA has granted emergency use authorization to Pfizer's pill to treat covid-19. The treatment, called Paxlovid, is the first antiviral covid-19 pill that people can take at home.
Pfizer says the pill can reduce the risk of severe illness by 90 percent and is intended for people at high risk for severe disease, including those over 65, people with obesity, diabetes, or a weakened immune system. Professor Peter Pitts, Founder, Center for Medicine in the Public Interest & Former FDA Associate joined Wake Up with Cheddar to discuss.
On December 20th, the TSA reported that for the fourth day in a row, it had screened more than 2 million people through its airports as the Omicron variant continues to rage and spread rapidly throughout the country. The CDC now reporting that roughly 73% of all covid cases are caused by the Omicron variant ahead of President Biden’s remarks aimed towards curbing the virus and helping hospitals battle rises in hospitalizations. Dr. Nasia Safdar breaks down the latest on traveling during the pandemic.
Ahead of a four day week for the markets due to the upcoming Christmas holiday, investors hoping for a quiet end to the year, or even a Santa Claus rally, may not be in luck. Investors are still digesting the latest from the Fed regarding a quicker than expected taper, as well as ever increasing blow back as the Omicron variant spreads. Octavio Marenzi, CEO of Opimas LLC, explains why the markets have been so volatile ever since the emergence of the latest variant and what to expect going forward into 2022.
Carlo and Baker cover the heartening news on the Covid front ahead of the holiday, plus President Biden punting student loan repayments again, a new space telescope and Love, Hate, Ate: Christmas Eve Eve Edition!
