Diamond Sports reached a deal with Amazon’s Prime Video that will allow its 16 regional sports networks to be made available on the streaming platform.

As part of the deal, Diamond’s networks will be made available as an add-on subscription to Prime customers living within each team’s designated geographic area. Further details, such as pricing, will be announced at a later date. Financial terms of the multiyear agreement were not disclosed.

The agreement is not exclusive, meaning Diamond can still pursue streaming rights deals with other partners, according to a person familiar with the matter. The company’s previously launched FanDuel Sports Network streaming options will still be available.

This marks the latest development for Diamond Sports as it looks to exit bankruptcy protection with a revamped business model.

In October, Diamond inked a naming rights deal with Flutter-owned FanDuel, rebranding its networks from Bally Sports to FanDuel Sports Network. The name change took place immediately during the National Hockey League season and ahead of the start of the 2024-25 National Basketball Association season.

Earlier this week, Diamond also announced it would offer games on an a la carte basis at $6.99 per game beginning Dec. 5, which will not require a subscription. Both Prime Video and the FanDuel Sports Network app will offer the single games, according to the person familiar with the offering.

On Thursday, Diamond will seek court approval for its reorganization plan, which has drawn criticism from Major League Baseball and the Atlanta Braves, who question the company’s future viability under the plan.

Both the league and the Braves had requested further clarity on what the partnership with Amazon, which at the time was not solidified, would entail.

Diamond sought bankruptcy protection last year, toppled by a heavy debt load and the effect of cord-cutting on its networks as consumers opt out of cable TV bundles for streaming services.

Diamond has also inked deals with the NBA and NHL for TV and streaming rights for their teams. It has been negotiating with MLB teams on an individual basis.

Various regional sports networks, including the New York Yankees’ YES Network, have launched streaming options in recent years. Amazon’s Prime Video already airs a selection of Yankees games each season since it is a stakeholder in the YES Network.

Pricing has been on the higher end of the scale, as the networks have been careful when it comes to pricing their streaming options so as not to further disrupt the cable TV model and breach contracts with distributors. These contracts have long helped support the billions of dollars in fees that the networks pay professional sports teams to air games.

Rocket Lab shares jumped in post-market trading after the company reported third-quarter results and announced its first customer for its coming Neutron vehicle.

The space infrastructure company reported third-quarter revenue increased to $104.8 million, up 55% from $67.6 million for the same period a year ago, and above Wall Street’s expectation of $102 million, according to analysts surveyed by LSEG.

Its net loss also increased year over year, to $51.9 million from $40.6 million, but its loss of 10 cents per share came in slightly below analyst expectations of a loss of 11 cents a share.

Rocket Lab forecast fourth-quarter revenue between $125 million and $135 million, which at the midpoint would see the company bring in about $430 million this year.

Additionally, the company announced its first launch deal for its Neutron rocket.

A “confidential commercial satellite constellation operator” signed for two missions in mid-2026, which Rocket Lab said were at a price “consistent with our target” for the vehicle. Previously, the company said it was targeting a price point of about $50 million per Neutron launch.

Shares of Rocket Lab jumped as much as 25% in after-hours trading, up from its close at $14.66 a share. The stock has been flying up the past three months, nearly tripling over that period.

The bulk of Rocket Lab’s Q3 revenue growth came from its Space Systems unit, which builds spacecraft and sells satellite parts. The business brought in $83.9 million of the quarter’s revenue, up from $46.3 million a year ago, while its Launch unit brought in $21 million, roughly in line wit- $21.3 million a year prior.

But the company’s small Electron vehicle, which sells for about $8.5 million per mission, has become the world’s third-most-frequently launched orbital rocket. It’s launched a company record 12 missions so far this year. And Rocket Lab added $55 million worth of new launch contracts to Electron’s backlog in Q3.

Development of Neutron — as well as the Archimedes engines that power it — remains a key watch item for investors, with heavy research and development spending driving most of Rocket Lab’s quarterly losses.

Neutron is seen as crucial for Rocket Lab to tap larger markets, including a broader swath of U.S. national security launches. The company continues to expect Neutron to debut in mid-2025 and has outlined a variety of milestones in the rocket’s path to launch — including assembly and testing of flight hardware, firing “multiple” Archimedes engines and continuing on work underway on the launchpad infrastructure in Virginia.

Shares of Amgen fell more than 7% Tuesday as analysts chewed over bone density loss data from an early-stage trial on its experimental weight loss injection, MariTide.

One analyst said the additional data suggests a new potential safety risk tied to the drug. But others said the share move was an overreaction, and that more data on a larger group of patients is needed.

Amgen did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the data 

The drug is a promising potential competitor in the weight loss drug market. It is designed to be taken monthly, rather than once a week like existing injections from Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, and promotes weight loss differently.

Wall Street is waiting for crucial phase two trial results on MariTide, which are set to be released before the end of the year. 

Analysts on Tuesday cited additional publicly available data from a phase one study showing that the highest dose of MariTide – 420 milligrams – was linked to roughly 4% loss of bone mineral density over 12 weeks. A decrease in bone mineral density refers to when bones lose calcium and other minerals, making them weaker and more likely to break. 

In a research note, Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Olivia Brayer called the data a “big unknown” and suggested it could be a potential risk associated with drugs like MariTide, which work by using so-called GIPR antagonism. Amgen’s injection works by blocking a gut hormone receptor called GIP but also activates another appetite-suppressing hormone called GLP-1. 

That’s unlike Eli Lilly’s obesity drug, Zepbound, which activates GIP and GLP-1. Wegovy activates GLP-1 but does not target GIP, which may also affect how the body breaks down sugar and fat.

“On one hand, patients could naturally lose bone mineral density during weight loss treatment,” Brayer wrote. 

But Brayer said, “on the other hand, this could be a non-starter because there seems to be a dose-dependent increase” in bone mineral density loss. That means patients appear to lose more bone mineral density the higher the dose they take. 

Meanwhile, Jefferies analyst Michael Yee wrote in a note that the additional MariTide data seems to be a “non-issue.” Yee acknowledged that people on the highest dose of the drug had declines in bone density, but said “the data is all over the place.” 

For example, he pointed to data on a lower dose of the drug showing that bone density actually increased by 1% before normalizing. Yee added that bone mineral density “changes” are a known side effect of weight loss drugs in the first one to three months of use because people lose significant weight quickly. 

Amgen is also aware of the “hypothetical concern” of bone mineral density loss, Yee said, citing the firm’s discussions with management.  

“While obviously not saying there is zero effect, we are saying we don’t think there is a concern, significant [bone mineral density] drop sustained over time, or clinical risk or concern,” Jefferies said. “Overall we don’t believe there is an issue and the effect is normalized over time.”

BMO analyst Evan Seigerman wrote in a note Tuesday that “We’d be cautious about making an overarching judgment on the safety profile of MariTide with this data.” 

He added that “we’d be more comfortable judging the safety profile from a larger cohort of patients.” There may not be a clear answer until Amgen releases full phase two trial data on the drug. 

“Our view on MariTide hasn’t changed with this and if anything we see the selling as overdone,” Seigerman wrote. 

Netflix’s cheaper, ad-supported tier has reached 70 million global monthly active users two years after it was launched.

The company said Tuesday more than 50% of its new sign-ups are for ad-supported plans in countries that offer the option. Netflix said it continues “to see positive momentum and growth across all areas of the business,” adding it has seen “steady progress across all countries’ member bases.”

Netflix launched the option in November 2022 as one of its responses to a slowdown in subscriber growth.

Recently, subscriber growth hasn’t been an issue. Last month Netflix reported it added 5.1 million subscribers during the third quarter, beating Wall Street estimates. In total, Netflix counts 282.7 million memberships across all of its pricing tiers.

Beginning next year, Netflix said it will no longer update investors on its subscriber numbers as it shifts focus toward revenue and other financial metrics as performance indicators.

When Netflix launched its ad platform two years ago, the company said Nielsen would rate its content.

Netflix in May announced it would air two National Football League games on Christmas Day this year as part of a three-year deal. On Tuesday it said it sold out of its ad inventory for the two live games.

Netflix also said it’s brought on FanDuel and Verizon as advertisers for the games. FanDuel will become the exclusive pregame sportsbook betting partner, Netflix said, and will have a sponsored in-show feature.

Media companies have been focusing on ad-supported strategies for their streaming options that woo customers with cheaper plans and also offer advertising revenue that can help move the streaming businesses toward profitability. While the ad market has been slow for traditional TV, it has grown for streaming and digital businesses.

Netflix offered its last update on its ad-supported tier in May, when it said it reached 40 million global monthly active users, nearly doubling the figure it had shared in January. That announcement came during Upfronts, when media companies make their pitches to advertisers.

Netflix also announced in May it would launch its own advertising platform, ending a partnership with Microsoft for that technology. It’s rolled out the platform in Canada and plans to launch it in the U.S. by the end of the second quarter next year. It plans to set the platform live everywhere by the end of 2025.

Thousands of Mattel’s “Wicked”-branded fashion dolls are flying off shelves, but not because of consumer demand.

The toy company has been forced to pull its line of character dolls after a package misprint. Instead of listing the website for Universal’s “Wicked” movie, boxes featured a link to a pornographic website for a group called Wicked Pictures.

“Mattel was made aware of a misprint on the packaging of the Mattel Wicked collection dolls, primarily sold in the U.S., which intended to direct consumers to the official WickedMovie.com landing page,” Mattel said in a statement. “We deeply regret this unfortunate error and are taking immediate action to remedy this. Parents are advised that the misprinted, incorrect website is not appropriate for children. Consumers who already have the product are advised to discard the product packaging or obscure the link and may contact Mattel Customer Service for further information.”

Target, Walmart and Amazon had removed the line of “Wicked” dolls from their online storefronts as of midday Monday, as had Best Buy, Barnes & Noble and Macy’s. The products were also being sold at Kohl’s and DSW, among other retailers. Some sites were still taking action on the listings throughout the day Monday.

It is unclear if Mattel will reprint the packages or provide retailers with stickers to cover the incorrect website domain. Mattel did not return CNBC’s request for additional comment after providing its initial statement.

“Like any business, mistakes can and do happen in the toy business,” said James Zahn, editor in chief of The Toy Book. “This was likely an innocent oversight that made it through the normal processes. Most consumers — kids and adults alike — will never read the fine print on a package, and at the end of the day, the packaging is designed to end up in the trash. The odds of a kid reading the back of a doll box and being inclined to go online and visit the website are pretty slim.”

The mishap comes as Universal floods retail shelves with “Wicked”-related product ahead of the film’s Nov. 22 release. The green-and-pink barrage is expected to bring a big boost to the retail industry just in time for the crucial holiday period.

However, Mattel could see its revenue impacted by the cost of removing the dolls.

“I suppose the impact depends on the resolution, which we don’t yet know,” said Jaime Katz, an analyst at Morningstar.

“The big winners in the short term are resellers, as this snafu sparked a flipper frenzy this weekend as retail shelves were quickly emptied by opportunists looking to make a quick buck by selling on eBay or Facebook Marketplace,” Zahn noted.

Already dozens of Mattel’s misprinted dolls are available on eBay for list prices ranging between $40 and $2,100. The dolls retailed for between $20 and $40 depending on the character and outfit.

Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC. NBCUniversal is the distributor of “Wicked.”

“Barbie” painted the town pink in 2023, and now “Wicked” is upping the ante by adding a splash of green.

Universal‘s theatrical retelling of the famed Broadway musical is creating buzz ahead of its Nov. 22 release with hundreds of merchandise offerings from dozens of retail partners. The green-and-pink barrage is part of Universal’s marketing strategy for the film and could bring a welcome boost to the retail industry just in time for the crucial holiday period.

These “Wicked” collaborations cross the spectrum from apparel, accessories, footwear, beauty and costumes all the way to home decor, toys and even one-of-a-kind cars.

The collections range in price points as well, offering consumers affordable and luxury options to show off their love of all things “Wicked.”

Target and Walmart have a slew of products on shelves, with whole sections of the store dedicated to themed shirts, sweaters and footwear, as well as dolls, plush figures, books and nail polish.

Lego and Mattel have brick sets and Barbies tied to the film; Starbucks has a collection of new tumblers and mugs, plus limited-time drinks inspired by main characters Glinda and Elphaba; and Betty Crocker has “mix to reveal” cake mixes that turn pink or green when wet ingredients are added.

Toyota’s Lexus is even releasing two one-of-a-kind versions of its 2024 Lexus TX that have “Wicked”-themed wraps.

The Broadway show on which the film is based is one of the most popular and highest-grossing musicals of all time and already has an established and rabid fanbase.

Just at the Gershwin Theater in New York City, more than 14.5 million people have bought tickets to see the show since it launched in 2003, generating more than $1.67 billion in ticket sales, according to Broadway World. Those figures don’t include traveling national shows or international residencies.

These fans are hungry for merchandise that celebrates and enhances their fandom and they are willing to pay for it, according to Mintel’s 2024 “U.S. Superfans and Enthusiasts Consumer Report.“

The report found that nearly half of “superfans,” the most enthusiastic and devoted fans, have spent money on official fandom events or merchandise in the past year. The report, which surveyed 2,000 adults in the U.S., also determined that fandom collaborations and partnered releases are most successful among niche super-fandoms.

And that’s a good thing for the retail space, which saw the consumer confidence index fall 7 points in September, the largest drop in more than three years, only to soar up 11% in October, the biggest single-month acceleration since March 2021.

Retailers that have partnered with Universal are expected to see a boost from sales of “Wicked” merchandise, which could help them stand out from other companies during the next few months.

What could also drive demand is the fact that these merchandise collaborations are limited-time only. Once the stock is gone, it’s not likely to be replenished. So, even the most price-conscious consumers may be willing to spend in order to get these products before they vanish from shelves.

Movie theaters, too, are offering up themed popcorn buckets, drink specials and other merchandise for moviegoers who head out to cinemas to see the film. These retail opportunities could help boost the “Wicked” box office.

At present, box-office analysts have a wide-ranging read on what “Wicked” could do during its domestic opening weekend. On the conservative end is an $85 million haul, predicted by leading entertainment and technology research firm NRG. Meanwhile, others speculate that the first film in a planned duology could top $100 million and capture as much as $150 million during its first three days in theaters.

The divergence of expectations comes as Hollywood has struggled to market and make a profit on movie musicals in recent years. Adaptations such as “In the Heights,” “Dear Evan Hanson” and “Mean Girls,” all based on Broadway shows, failed to drum up significant box-office revenue during their runs.

However, other fan-favorite intellectual property-driven titles — including “Dune: Part Two,” “Deadpool & Wolverine” and “Inside Out 2” — have overperformed estimates. With “Wicked” already being a household name but existing in the musical space, box-office analysts are finding it tricky to predict where it will land.

Dutch Bros. CEO Christine Barone described the coffee chain’s cross-country expansion plans in a Friday interview with CNBC’s Jim Cramer, saying it may be some time before the Oregon-based company opens stores in the Northeast region.

“We’re really growing in a contiguous way, so that we’re growing across states that are next to each other,” Barone said. “We just had the ability to enter Florida this year. So, we still have a lot of growth ahead of us. We will be there, but it’ll be a little while.”

Dutch Bros. operates in 18 states on the West Coast and in the South, including in California, Arizona and Texas. The company made its market debut in 2021, and the stock is currently up 48.97% year-to-date. It reported a solid quarter Wednesday night that sent shares surging more than 28% Thursday, and they continued to climb during Friday’s session, closing up more than 5%.

According to Barone, the company’s growth is “predicated on people” and added that the chain received 400,000 applications for 11,000 available positions this year. During Dutch Bros.’ recent earnings calls, Barone said management plans to open at least 160 new shops in 2025. She also discussed the company’s product strategy, saying Dutch Bros. puts an emphasis on iced beverages and personalized drinks.

“Personalization has been a big part of us since the very beginning,” she said. “So, I think we’ve really built our operations, and we’ve built our brand around the ability to personalize really well.”

The Philadelphia Phillies recently raised close to $500 million in capital from three new investors in a transaction that values the Major League Baseball team and its 25% stake in regional sports network NBC Sports Philadelphia at about $3 billion, according to two people familiar with the deal.

As part of the transaction, two existing owners, managing partner John Middleton and Stanley Middleman, also invested more money in the Phillies, bringing the total capital infusion to close to $600 million, according to the people.

On Nov. 1, Middleton announced new investors, including Mitchell Morgan and Guntram Weissenberger Jr., would be joining the Phillies. The size of the investment and the third investor were not disclosed.

Given that limited-partner stakes typically go for about 20% less than control stakes because LPs have no say in how the team is run, the $3 billion valuation equates to roughly a $3.7 billion control valuation.

That is an impressive number considering the Baltimore Orioles were sold for $1.73 billion earlier this year and the most ever paid for a baseball team was the $2.42 billion that Steve Cohen paid for the New York Mets in 2020.

A little more than a year ago, Middleman purchased a 16.25% stake in the Phillies at a grossed up valuation of $2.8 billion.

Based on revenue multiples, a $3.7 billion control valuation for the Phillies would be eight times 2023 revenue, compared with multiples of 5.3 for the Orioles and 6.7 for the Mets, according to historic revenue calculations.

The Phillies have one of the best local television deals in baseball. In 2014, the team inked a deal with NBC Sports Philadelphia that guaranteed the team an average of $100 million a year in rights fees over 25 years, plus a 25% stake in the regional sports network.

However, cord-cutting has resulted in tougher economics for regional sports networks, the most egregious example being Diamond Sports Group, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March 2023. As pay-TV revenues fall, some baseball teams could see a reduction in their television revenue.

The Phillies’ exposure to that risk is lower, since Comcast owns 75% of the regional sports network.

It is not known what the Phillies will use the proceeds from the capital raise for, but there has been some speculation that the team could go after free agent Juan Soto.

Nabbing Soto, who could get between $50 million and $70 million a year, would likely land the team a huge luxury tax bill. Last season, the Phillies, who are led by superstar Bryce Harper, had a payroll of $262 million, the fourth-highest in baseball, according to Cot’s Baseball Contracts. The team is on the hook for a luxury tax, formerly known as the competitive balance tax, of $10 million, according to Spotrac.

The Phillies have a payroll of $240 million heading into the 2025 season, according to Cot’s. The MLB luxury tax limit is set at $241 million.

Prior to this capital raise, the Middleton family owned 48.75% of the Phillies, the Buck family owned 32.5% and the Middleman family owned 16.25%, according to a person familiar with the team’s ownership. Pat Gillick owned 1.5%, and David Montgomery owned 1%, the person said.

It is not clear what the precise ownership interests are after the capital raise.

A spokesperson for MLB did not respond to CNBC’s request for comment. A spokesperson for the Phillies declined to comment, as did a spokesperson for Galatioto Sports Partners, the advisory firm that represented the Phillies on the capital raise.

Disclosure: Comcast owns NBCUniversal, the parent company of CNBC.

DETROIT — Toyota Motor sounded the alarm Friday that California-led electric vehicle mandates that are set to start next year are “impossible” to meet and, if they’re not changed, will lead to less customer choice in several states.

Current requirements under the California Air Resources Board’s “Advanced Clean Cars II” regulations call for 35% of 2026 model-year vehicles, which will begin to be introduced next year, to be zero-emission vehicles, or ZEV. Battery-electric, fuel cell and, to an extent, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles qualify as zero emission under the regulations.

“I have not seen a forecast by anyone … government or private, anywhere that has told us that that number is achievable. At this point, it looks impossible,” Jack Hollis, chief operating officer of Toyota Motor North America, said during a virtual media roundtable Friday. “Demand isn’t there. It’s going to limit a customer’s choice of the vehicles they want.”

The California Air Resources Board reports 12 states and Washington, D.C., have adopted the rules. Roughly half of them did so starting with the 2027 model year. The EV mandates are part of CARB’s Advanced Clean Cars regulations that require 100% of new vehicle sales in the state of California to be zero-emission models by 2035.

J.D. Power said no states are in accordance with the EV mandate as of this year. Only California (27%), Colorado (22%) and Washington (20%) have seen at least 20% of retail sales being EVs or PHEVs this year. Other states such as New York (12%), New Mexico (5%) and Rhode Island (9%) are far from compliant.

The national average of EV/PHEV adoption for retail sales is only 9% through October, J.D. Power said Friday.

Hollis said if the mandates are unchanged, it will lead to “unnatural acts” in the automotive industry that have already begun at some automakers, where companies are supplying states which have agreed to the rules with a disproportionate amount of electrified models.

“It’s going to distort the industry. It’s going to distort the business. Why? Because it’s unnatural to what the current demand in the marketplace is,” Hollis, a longtime automotive executive, said.

Several automotive insiders previously told CNBC that the EV mandate issue needed to be addressed regardless of who won election this year.

The California Air Resources Board did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Under President-elect Donald Trump‘s first term in office, a legal battle ensued to revoke states’ ability to set their own emissions standards. Several officials expect Trump to renew that push once he’s back in the White House.

Hollis said he “hopes it doesn’t come to that” this time around, and that the states, federal government and auto industry can come to a resolution. He also said Toyota would prefer one national standard — a sentiment many automakers previously shared.

“We would always want a 50-state rule, because that way we can treat all customers, all dealers, equally, fairly, whatever that might be,” Hollis said. “Our hope would be is that California and [the Environmental Protection Agency] would match up, and it would be reduced down to something that is achievable. Even if it’s a push, even if it’s a reach, but at this point, it’s an impossible stage.”

Rivian Automotive lowered its earnings forecast for the year after missing Wall Street’s third-quarter expectations, including a significant miss in revenue.

Here is how the company performed in the quarter, compared with average estimates compiled by LSEG:

• Loss per share: 99 cents adjusted vs. a loss of 92 cents expected
• Revenue: $874 million vs. $990 million expected

Rivian said it now expects adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of between a loss of $2.83 billion and a loss of $2.88 billion. That compares to a previous guidance of a roughly $2.7 billion loss.

But Rivian reconfirmed plans Thursday to achieve a “modest positive gross profit” during the fourth quarter of this year, which is being closely monitored by Wall Street.

“Our core focus is on driving toward profitability,” Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe told CNBC’s Phil LeBeau on Thursday. “Looking at Q4, we continue to guide toward gross margin.”

The company reported a negative gross profit of $392 million for the third quarter compared with a loss of $477 million a year earlier.

Shares of Rivian during after-hours trading Thursday were up roughly 2% after initially declining. The stock closed Thursday at $10.05, up 3.5%

RBC Capital Markets analyst Tom Narayan said the company maintaining the gross profit target should benefit the stock: “Many analysts we spoke to into the print thought the company might withdraw this target. On that basis, we could see shares trade higher,” he said in an investor note Thursday.

The automaker’s net loss narrowed year over year to $1.1 billion compared to $1.37 billion during the third quarter of 2023. Its revenue, including $8 million in sales of regulatory credits, dropped 34.6% compared to a year ago amid supplier disruptions that affected the company’s production.

“This has been a tough quarter for us,” Scaringe told investors Thursday about the supplier issues. “We’re seeing this as a short-term issue.”

Rivian last month lowered its annual production forecast from 57,000 units to between 47,000 and 49,000 units due to the disruption. It reconfirmed that range Thursday.

The supplier disruptions have occurred as the automaker attempts to launch its second-generation “R1” vehicles. The 2025 model-year redesigns included significant changes to the vehicle’s internal parts.

Separate from third-quarter results, Rivian on Thursday announced an “important strategic partnership” with LG Energy Solution to supply U.S. manufactured battery cells for the company’s upcoming R2 vehicles in 2026.