Peloton has a new way to get your heart pumping: The connected bike maker is rolling out an in-app video game. 

The game, tentatively titled “Lanebreak,” will be available in beta to Peloton customers later this year. It will allow users to control a wheel through a course by pedaling their Peloton bikes. Users can select the music they listen to as they play.

The move further broadens Peloton’s suite of content.

• The connected fitness company has content partnerships with Beyoncé, as well as with Timbaland and Swizz Beatz’s music competition, Verzuz. 
• It held a three-day virtual music festival this month with a diverse set of acts including Nas, Pearl Jam, and Doja Cat.
• Peloton pays artists $0.03 per stream — much higher than Spotify ($0.0035 per stream) and Apple Music ($0.0068 per stream). 

Peloton is not the first company to use a connected workout machine as a gaming controller. Ergatta, which raised $30 million in a Series A round in April, produces rowing machines that control a video game on a connected screen.

Japan’s top automaker, Toyota, is pulling Olympics-related television advertisements from its home country during the Tokyo Games.

The company became a worldwide Olympic sponsor in an eight-year, nearly $1 billion deal in 2015.

Tokyo is under its fourth state of emergency, and there’s been a rise in Delta-variant COVID-19 cases — multiple athletes in the Olympic Village have already tested positive for the virus. The Japanese Olympic Committee declared on July 8 that no fans, foreign or domestic, will be allowed to attend.

Toyota is reportedly keen on avoiding any hit to its brand image, as the Japanese public overwhelmingly disapproves of holding the Games amid a pandemic.

Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda will skip the Games’ opening ceremony, but the company will still provide 3,340 vehicles for transportation and help promote its sponsored athletes.

• Before the pandemic, Japan saw the largest contributions ever from a host nation’s sponsors — roughly 60 Japanese companies spent more than $3 billion. 
• Another $200 million was spent for contract extensions after the games were delayed, per Reuters.
• Canon canceled promotion booths and client entertainment plans earlier this month.

Total costs for the Tokyo Olympics are estimated to reach $25 billion, with Japan losing out on roughly $830 million just for its decision to ban spectators. Reinsurers could pay up to $400 million.

“Space Jam: A New Legacy” hit theaters (and HBO Max) on Friday and grossed $31.7 million in its opening domestic weekend — the most successful family film debut of the pandemic.

The long-awaited Warner Bros. movie stars LeBron James and was accompanied by a robust marketing campaign, which reportedly included a $15 million spend on TV ads.

• Marvel’s “Black Widow” — which debuted last weekend with an $80 million domestic bow — slid to $26.3 million, good enough for the No. 2 spot behind “Space Jam.”
• The original “Space Jam,” which starred Michael Jordan, is still the highest-grossing basketball film of all time. The 1996 film brought in $230 million at the global box office and more than $1 billion in merchandise sales.

Over-the-top product placement in the new “Space Jam” and constant references to Warner Bros.’ vast universe of intellectual property turned off most professional critics. The film featured over 100 cameos from Warner characters and properties, from Harry Potter and Batman to “The Matrix.”

James had a couple of words for critics when the numbers came in.

Linking to an article about the film’s opening weekend box-office success, he tweeted, “Hi Haters!” with a smiley face.