Peloton responds to shocking 'Sex and the City' character death

Peloton Interactive Inc.’s most recent casualty isn’t just its share price, but a major character in the new series of “Sex and the City.” The home fitness company, whose key product is an exercise bike, said it did not realize its product would be used as prop that led to the death of Mr. Big, who dropped dead after a 45-minute ride in the first episode “And Just Like That...”, which aired Thursday on HBO Max. See Ad Age’s 2021 Year in Review here. Peloton’s shares have dropped 73% this year as the U.S. reopening saps potential demand for at-home workouts. A Peloton spokesman said in a statement that it knew its product would be used in the show, but not the storyline, adding that the bike wasn’t to blame for the cigar-smoking character’s fictional demise. “Although unlikely to impact sales,” said analysts at BMO Capital Markets, “it does question whether PTON is losing degrees of control over its storytelling, perhaps its greatest achievement to date.” Peloton’s share are also down 2.7% pre-market, following a downgrade from a Credit Suisse analyst to neutral from outperform. Subscribe to Ad Age now for award-winning news and insight. —Bloomberg News

Peloton responds to shocking 'Sex and the City' character death

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