Ford CEO on $2B EV investment: This is the right direction for Ford to turnaround our business
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Yahoo
13 minutes ago
- Yahoo
ESPN, Fox team up for bundled streaming service in October
Aug. 11 (UPI) -- Disney's ESPN and Fox Corp. on Monday announced the two rivals are joining forces to offer a streaming service to consumers as a bundle for $39 per month. The two media giants announced the service but last week ESPN and Fox each announced separate all-in-one streaming apps. The services can be downloaded on devices, including cellphones and tablets, and can be accessed on smart TVs and gaming consoles. With viewership declining on TV, including cable, media companies have turned to streaming services as a way to boost viewership and revenue. CNBC reported that sports is a way to accomplish this. Last week, both companies announced their services -- ESPN's Direct to Consumer Unlimited Offering and Fox One -- will launch on Aug. 21 before the college football and NFL seasons. But the bundle won't be available until October. ESPN's separate service will cost $29.99 month and Fox's will be $19.99. Also, ESPN will offer a bundle with Disney's other streaming services, Disney+ and Hulu, for $35.99 per month. Besides events, both companies present sports news. The ESPN service will include live sports and programming from its TV networks, including ESPN2, the SEC Network, the ACC Network, as well as Disney-owned ABC. ESPN also reached an agreement last week with the NFL to acquire the NFL Network, including the Red Zone. And ESPN last week signed a deal with the WWW for U.S. rights in 2026 to its biggest wrestling events, including WrestleMania, the Royal Rumble and SummerSlam. In all, ESPN/ABC cover 47,000 live events each year, as well as studio shows and original programming. ESPN and ABC sports include Monday Night Football, college football and basketball, NHL, NBA, Major League Soccer, golf, tennis and motorsports. In addition, an enhanced app will integrate game statistics, betting information, fantasy sports, multi-view options and a "personalize SportsCenter For You," the company said. Fox's parent company offers Tubi and Fox Nation. Fox's sports networks include FS1, FS2 and the Big Ten Network. The company said Fox One won't have original content. Last week, Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch and Disney CEO Bob Iger said during earnings calls that they were considering offering bundle services. Fox Sports' coverage includes NFL, college football and basketball, Major League Baseball, FIFA World Cup, Major League Soccer, motorsports, WNBA, LIV Golf and boxing. Three other media companies offer sports: Comcast's NBC, Warner Bros. Discovery's TNT and Paramount Skydance's CBS. NBC, which has the rights to the Olympics, has Peacock streaming, and CBS offers Paramount+, services that include sports. TNT doesn't have a specific app but its services can be bundles with other apps. On Monday, Paramount announced plans to televise UFC events starting next year.
Yahoo
13 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Ford to invest $5 billion in EV production. Here's what to know.
Ford is investing $5 billion to change the way it makes electric vehicles, a move the automaker says will allow it to manufacture models starting at $30,000 — far less than the current average price for an EV. The Dearborn, Michigan-based company on Monday said it will invest $2 billion to modernize its Louisville Assembly Plant and another $3 billion to build a new battery plant in Michigan, part of its push to produce more affordable EVs. Switch Auto Insurance and Save Today! Great Rates and Award-Winning Service The Insurance Savings You Expect Affordable Auto Insurance, Customized for You The company unveiled its new "universal EV platform" at a Monday event, with Ford CEO Jim Farley calling it "the most radical change on how we design and how we build vehicles at Ford since the Model T," which Ford introduced in 1908. According to Ford, the new assembly line will be structured more like an "assembly tree," with three different lines that converge into one, rather than a single assembly belt. "This way of building a vehicle, we're confident, is the first time anyone's done this anywhere in the world," said Doug Field, Ford's EV chief of digital and design, at Monday's event. The company said the design will lead to a quicker, smoother assembly process and improve ergonomics for employees through a less obstructive layout. "Ford's announcement is very ambitious, because it includes both a new production process and a new vehicle," said Patrick Anderson, founder of Michigan-based consulting firm Anderson Economic Group, in an email to CBS MoneyWatch. "If they can actually pull off a production line that has 40% fewer workstations and 20% fewer parts, it will be worthy of the 'Model T moment' claim. Ford's first EV from the new system The first product of this new production system will be a four-door midsize truck, which will debut in 2027. Farley said on Monday that the new vehicle will accommodate five people and feature a "frunk" — a front storage compartment — as well as a pickup truck bed. The vehicle will start at $30,000. By comparison, the average price for a new electric vehicle in July was about $56,000, according to Kelley Blue Book. Field touted the new vehicle's charging capabilities, referring to the truck as a "mobile power plant." "Outlets in the back can give you high power and let you plug in anything from tools to a refrigerator, and it can provide backup power for your home," he said. The midsize electric truck could be produced up to 40% faster than other vehicles at the Louisville Assembly Plant due to the new process, Ford said. In another effort to lower costs, the auto company is also reducing the number of components that go into each car. Vehicles produced on the "universal EV platform" will have 20% fewer parts than a traditional vehicle, Ford said. The company will also use smaller cobalt and nickel-free batteries that will allow it to make "cost gains," according to a video shared by Ford. Anderson said that Ford has its work cut out for them given that the new truck will need to be competitively priced and economical. According to the auto industry expert, the cost of charging EV trucks currently on the market is often much higher than the price at the pump for gas-powered versions. A report from the Anderson Economic Group shows pickup trucks drivers in New York, California and Michigan face "significantly higher costs" if they rely on an EV. A successfully lower-cost truck model, however, could spur a new chapter for the company in its manufacturing of EVs. "If Ford shows the industry it can build and sell a reliable compact EV truck for $30,000, it will sell a lot of them, and open the door to making sedans using the new production process," Anderson said. Derek and the Dominos co-founder Bobby Whitlock dies Artisan bakers sparking sourdough boom At least 1 dead, dozens injured and others trapped in U.S. Steel plant explosion in Pennsylvania Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Engadget
14 minutes ago
- Engadget
Trump delays China tariff increases by another 90 days
President Donald Trump has signed an executive order extending lower tariffs with China for another 90 days, CNBC reports. The new executive order was signed before the previous agreement was set to end on August 12 at midnight. The extension will maintain the current 30 percent tariff on goods from China while representatives from both countries negotiate a new trade deal. The previous agreement lowered US tariffs down from 145 percent to 30 percent, and Chinese tariffs down from 145 percent to 10 percent. At the time, it was unclear how the move would impact the price of electronics manufactured in China, but for at least some companies, it's still led to higher costs. While the price of the Switch 2 is remaining the same, Nintendo announced at the beginning of August that the price of the Switch 1 would increase by $40 or more. Sonos has said that some of its products would increase in price, but hasn't shared details. Both DJI and Microsoft announced price hikes on some of their products back in May, too. For companies manufacturing products abroad, the sudden swerves in Trump administration trade policy seem almost as difficult to deal with as the tariffs themselves. That erratic protectionism is reshaping global trade, and it's also won concessions from companies trying to do business as normal. Apple committed to spending an extra $100 billion on US manufacturing last week to avoid being subjected to tariffs. And early today, both AMD and NVIDIA reportedly agreed to pay the US 15 percent of their profits to be allowed to sell GPUs in China.
