Mindbody Plans to Tackle On-Demand Fitness Videos, CEO Says
*By Chloe Aiello*
Fitness and beauty booking tool Mindbody is planning to make a play for the next big thing in wellness ー on-demand video, CEO Rick Stollmeyer told Cheddar on Thursday.
"You can expect us to be playing in that space, because we think that the on-demand and streaming video revolution hitting the fitness space is a big breakthrough," Stollmeyer said.
Mindbody ($MB) is a technology platform for beauty and wellness companies that provides cloud-based booking, payment, marketing, and business management software. It supports thousands of clients, like PureBarre, ClassPass, and CorePower Yoga, and boasts millions of registered users.
Many of Mindbody's customers are already offering on-demand videos of fitness classes that allow buffs to take them whenever and wherever they want.
"What these \[brands\] are reporting back to us and what we are seeing is that actually it is causing far more accretion of additional people into these businesses than it is cannibalizing them away to stay at home," he added.
Rather than opt out of in-person classes, fitness class patrons are using them to supplement their practice or ease their way into a new type of workout.
"Being able to access this content on-demand from the comfort of my living room means that I can take classes when it's more convenient perhaps. And perhaps for some people who aren't yet ready to go into that class live, \[they\] can experience what it's like, get comfortable with the notion of it, and then they'll convert into customers at the brick-and-mortar locations," Stollmeyer said.
The CEO wouldn't say when the company plans on launching an on-demand service, but he did say the company is "deeply interested" and the platform is "perfectly positioned for it."
His comments come hot on the heels of [the company's announcement](https://www.mindbodyonline.com/company/press/mindbody-enters-into-definitive-agreement-to-be-acquired-by-vista-equity-partners-for) in late December it had entered a definitive agreement with Vista Equity to be acquired for $1.9 billion. The deal would take the company private about 3.5 years after [its 2015 Nasdaq debut](https://www.nasdaq.com/article/mindbody-mb-goes-public-stock-closes-below-ipo-price-stocks-in-the-news-cm488973).
"What we see happening with Vista, these folks have some amazing best practices, they can help us further improve our operations ... they know how to create value, so we see this as a win-win for everyone involved, and most importantly for our customers," Stollmeyer said.
The transaction is expected to close in early 2019.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/mindbody-keeps-your-business-model-in-tip-top-shape).
We are a week away from the 2022 Beijing Olympics, and China has already faced a host of problems leading up to the opening ceremony of the Beijing games. DJ Peterson, president of Longview Global Advisors, joins Cheddar News to discuss the many concerns and controversies surrounding the event.
The Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals will be the two teams competing at Super Bowl LVI after both survived their respective nail-biting conference championships. The Big Game will be held at the SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, home of the Rams, potentially granting them a home-field advantage. Frank Schwab, a sportswriter for Yahoo Sports, joined Cheddar to discuss what bettors should be looking for at this year’s NFL finale. "Super Bowl, unlike any other game on the NFL schedule, where if people bet once a year, it's going to be on the Super Bowl, especially with so many states having legal betting now," Schwab said.
It's a big weekend for sports betting, with the NFL conference championships and Australian Open finals expected to bring the industry even more traffic. And if record viewership of the divisional playoff game between the Chiefs and Bills was any indication, sports betting will only continue to grow as football season comes to an end. Joe Raineri, sports betting analyst at SportsGrid, joined Cheddar to discuss how these sporting events could impact the industry, which is expected to get even bigger in 2022.
Trysta Krick breaks down the Bengals-Chiefs matchup while Lester Ricard Jr. dissects what will be the third meeting of the season for the 49ers and Rams. Meanwhile, on the hardwood, Brian Bennett says that college basketball bettors should focus on a team's road wins as an early indicator for success in March.
Sponsored by BetMGM
Trysta Krick, host of BetMGM Tonight, joins Cheddar Bets to break down her best plays in the AFC Championship game and gives a fix for the NFL OT rules.
Sponsored by BetMGM
Wednesday marked two years since the basketball legend Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna, and seven others died in a tragic helicopter crash. In remembrance, a bronze statue has been temporarily placed at the site with all of the passenger's names included on the memorial.
With the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics right around the corner, experts are warning that climate change is threatening not only the event but also the future of snow sports. Despite being the world's top polluter, China is hoping to use the event to demonstrate the country's commitment to fighting climate change, and pledging to host a "low carbon" games. Xubin Zeng, professor of hydrology and atmospheric sciences at the University of Arizona, joins Cheddar News.
As the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics inches closer, sponsors are facing mounting pressure to pull out of the games with China is under fire for controversies like the alleged human rights abuses against its Muslim minority population and the disappearance of tennis player Peng Shuai. Rick Burton, professor of sport management at Syracuse University, joined Cheddar to discuss what he expects to happen once the games begin. Burton said China is too large of a market for American advertisers to ignore, and he doesn't expect any of them to pull out of the games. "Olympic sponsors right now I think are really just trying to hang on and get through these 17 days, come out the other end," he said.
As controversy dogs the run-up to the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, China is hiring TikTokers and other social media influencers to promote the nation's history, culture, diplomatic efforts, and current trends.
Talent Resources Sports is partnering with ABG Entertainment to host Sports Illustrated The Party during the weekend of Super Bowl LVI, featuring musical performances by Kygo, Jack Harlow, and other guests. David Spencer and Mike Heller, co-CEOs and founders of Talent Resources Sports, joined Cheddar to discuss the details behind putting on the event. “We’re just really pumped that after all of the things that got canceled people will finally have a place to let some steam off in such an exciting moment, such a charged moment with the Super Bowl,” Mike Heller said about putting on the live event after previous COVID-related cancellations.
