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UAMS Names Wendy N. Nembhard, Ph.D., MPH, as Dean of the Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health
LITTLE ROCK — The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) named Wendy N. Nembhard, Ph.D., MPH, as the next dean of the Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health, effective Sept. 1.
NASA Webb Explores Family Tree of Newly Discovered Distant Objects
Since their discovery by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope in 2022, little red dots (LRDs) have been the subject of great interest to astronomers.
Nebraska volleyball ends student season tickets for single-match sales
Once again, Nebraska volleyball student tickets are in high demand. This year, it will look a little different, as season packages are no longer offered.
Framework Laptop 13 Pro review: A repairable notebook at the top of the class
The Framework 13 Pro is a class-leading Windows laptop that, right now, is just a little too pricey.
My Cracker Barrel visit left me wanting a new menu
I went to Cracker Barrel and little has changed under the outgoing CEO. Maybe the new boss will freshen up the menu.
The Science Behind the AI Panic Is Shakier Than You Think
A column by Sascha Lobo Is AI making us dumb? So asked DER SPIEGEL on its cover a while ago. After a few weeks of recovery and a therapeutic intervention with the help of my AI, I feel able to respond. That’s a bit unfair, of course; the article itself is more nuanced than the loud cover, the image of a schoolkid with dull prompt questions, or the subtitle: “AI is conquering the schools, and educators fear a disaster.” The short answer to “Is AI making us dumb?” is: no. The long answer is more interesting, and even carries a preliminary glimmer of the spectacular. Unfortunately, it requires a detour into the sphere of artificial intelligence, into the mogul-field terrain of technology assessment, the attention economy, and the destructive virus of cultural pessimism. Along with narrowing the scope to AI’s effects on education and work rather than on intelligence. Because the honest version of the question would be: Does AI help us learn and work, or not? Generative AI, which set off the still-ongoing hype with ChatGPT, has only existed in relevant distribution since late 2022, early 2023. For a technology-driven transformation of people and society, that is extremely short. For that reason alone, research is still in its infancy. And technology assessment is not a fast discipline anyway. Prominent voices from Elizabeth Eisenstein to RAND to Tom Wheeler say we still cannot conclusively judge the consequences of the printing press. Its invention is a mere 580 years back, and some scholars would rather not circulate assessments that might have to be retracted in two or three hundred years. We’re Going Through Growing Pains A phenomenon that already caused upheaval in social media research makes serious assessment of AI’s consequences even harder: the “moving target” problem of LLM-ology, as the linguist Sean Trott called it in 2025. AI develops so quickly and so unpredictably that researchers often end up studying snapshots of the past. There are concepts, from morphological analysis to anticipatory governance, for keeping research, planning, and regulation halfway meaningful anyway. But even with those, universally valid statements are rare. DER SPIEGEL - The German View is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe We should therefore treat findings about the interplay between humans and AI as far more procedural and situational. Unfortunately, this challenge comes at the worst possible time. We are going through growing pains: AI’s everyday impact has grown very large very fast, and with it the longing for guidance. Annoyingly, the body of solid knowledge has not exploded along with it. Experts cannot be moved to broad consensus on even banal statements about AI. Sascha Lobo, born in 1975, is an author and strategy consultant focusing on the internet and digital technologies. Together with Jule Lobo, he explores the debates of the day in the podcast “Feel the News – Was Deutschland bewegt” (”What Moves Germany”). Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang says software developers are dying out. Bill Gates considers coders one of only three professions that will survive the AI tsunami. Top tech economists find virtually irrefutable arguments both for and against an AI bubble. The same naturally applies to the structurally youth-hostile debate over whether AI is good or bad for young people. The gap between the demand for insight and the supply of solid knowledge creates an orientation vacuum. This vacuum of AI cluelessness is filled, as the attention economy described by Georg Franck in 1998 would have it, with half-knowledge (funnily enough, often AI-generated), marketing, and self-marketing. After all, infinite money is at stake, along with academia’s best current shot at global fame. But this iridescent froth of interpretation operates more by the algorithmic principles of the digital public sphere than by seriously earned insight. That is why dramatized, fear-feeding claims about AI are so promising. It tempts parts of academia into distorted drivel, and parts of the media then sensationalize the published drivel once more. Was the Research Aimed at a Desired Result? How badly this can influence academia and public perception is demonstrated by one of the most-discussed studies on AI’s effects: “Your Brain on ChatGPT.” The MIT study by Nataliya Kosmyna also gets plenty of space in the SPIEGEL cover story. What was measured and interpreted: lower brain activity in people who write with AI assistance, compared to people who only google or write without any tools. As is common with preprints, the study has not yet been peer-reviewed, and it contains substantial weaknesses that experts have sharply criticized. The first round had 54 participants in three groups, the second only 18, who reportedly also came from MIT’s own orbit. There was no preregistration (committing in advance to what you want to find out with which data). In their analysis, Stanković et al. even discovered an opposite effect that the study does not further explain. Some measurement data has not (yet) been published. And the EEG analysis method used is considered too imprecise to support such far-reaching conclusions. The biggest criticism, though, is the suspicion of an activism-driven study. In an interview with Time, lead author Kosmyna said she published the study immediately, rather than after full peer review, because she feared politicians might otherwise decide to put ChatGPT in kindergartens. She considers that absolutely harmful. It is legitimate to hold such a view. It just seems unscientific to approach a study with it, and then to design the setup so that the chance of a fitting desired result remains as high as possible. Ideologies Collide It is not easy to separate genuine AI insights from studies that trivialize and weaken well-founded AI criticism. The same goes for the opposing, AI-enthusiastic narratives, because the pro-AI side works against it with billions in resources. Ideologies collide, fed by egos, PR strategies, moral posturing, and once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. Doomsday marketing makes the search even harder: AI companies can profit from warnings about the dangers of AI, whether through the notoriety of apocalypse narratives or because, in some target groups, danger translates into power. Some seemingly negative findings are therefore quite welcome in the AI industry. If you try to get at the findings presumably less influenced by interest groups, the picture in education seems relatively clear: AI can improve educational outcomes when the right AI is used the right way, namely pedagogically. Simply dumping an AI chatbot into a classroom, by contrast, accomplishes little. Huge surprise. But something else is also obvious: whether they are allowed to or not, kids use AI for school, which is why the controlled integration of AI tools into education is, in the medium term, entirely without alternative. In the world of work, the landscape of findings is more complex and requires more differentiation. A series of serious studies points to an AI effect that suits neither the alarmists, regulation fetishists, and AI opponents, nor the trillion-dollar corporations with their armada of paid scientists, PR professionals, and ecosystems: working with AI helps the inexperienced (at least for now) considerably more than it helps the pros, in certain fields of work, and provided they know how to use it correctly. Missing Domain Knowledge Among the experienced, the professionals, and the high flyers, by contrast, despite frequent time savings, partially negative effects and new problems are emerging. Take the jagged frontier problem: AI solves task A brilliantly and fails completely at task B, even though both look similar even to professionals. Or the verification-cost problem, in which AI’s greater productivity gets eaten up by the enormous effort of checking its output. Or the illusion of competence, because AI makes new domains seem easily penetrable, until you painfully discover that deep domain knowledge is missing. Taken as a whole, the effects of working with AI do lean positive. But the promise that AI works as a turbocharger for everyone and boosts practically everything simply refuses to materialize. The AI magic the world has been feeling since ChatGPT arrived in late 2022 has so far barely shown up in most companies’ numbers. The consulting firm McKinsey has coined a term for this, the “gen AI paradox,” and believes that work processes and corporate structures would have to be rebuilt quite fundamentally to realize AI’s benefits at scale. Reuters just reported that only 3.3 percent of Microsoft’s customers have subscribed to the AI package Copilot. That may be down to the product; in other areas we continue to see soaring successes and new AI triumphs. But after the first quarter of 2026, disillusionment is the word for all too many AI projects at traditional companies: because the promised revolution of AI agents has so far failed to arrive or been postponed, and because of the leveling effect that many of the studies cited here suggest. Against Inequality The societal effects, on the other hand, appear rather encouraging. Many previous technologies operated on the Matthew principle, named for the Gospel verse about giving to those who already have: they tended to reward the more competent and more privileged. AI, however, seems more often to have an equalizing effect once a threshold of access and education is crossed. Some anecdotal insights point in this direction, for example, how an unemployed man in Leipzig successfully defended himself in court in 2025 against fraud accusations from Germany’s federal employment agency — without a lawyer, armed only with ChatGPT. The AI made mistakes and cited invented court rulings, but in the end the man walked away unpunished. And a key capability of artificial intelligence is its capacity to learn: set up correctly and fed with data, it can keep getting better. It is a question of time, or more precisely of AI innovations and training data, until even free AI chatbots write better legal briefs than law graduates with perfect exam scores. Whether that will make anyone dumb is something the world’s press will surely inform us of in due time. Subscribe Leave a comment
Entertainment Listing: July 29
Wednesday July 29 Little Nashville • Marion Music Bingo, 6 p.m. – 9 p.m. PK’s • Carbondale Trivia, 8 p.m. – 11 p.m. Advertisement Thursday July 30 PK’s • Carbondale The Whiskey Chicks, 9 p.m. Little Nashville • Marion Josh and Dan/Atlas May, 6 p.m. – 9 p.m. Friday July 31 Little Nashville...
FedEx founder's Memphis family sets FWS Enterprises
A little more than a year after the death of FedEx founder Fred Smith, his family is being more strategic with investments and philanthropy, Richard Smith said.
SEC’s New Targeting Rule A Win For Common Sense
SEC Media Days 2026 was, as usual, a lot of sizzle and very little steak. But one announcement was significant enough that it merits further consideration. The league announced that beginning in 2026 a player’s first targeting ejection of the season will no longer carry an automatic suspension into the next game. The player is […]
How a downtown lunch spot is hanging on Power Play
How this downtown lunch spot is making it, with a little help from its landlord.
Chianti South set to re-open in Little River under new ownership
Chianti South, a restaurant known for its italian cuisine and wine list located just before the North Carolina state line on Highway 17, is planning to re-open soon under new ownership.
USMCA and the Politics of Permanent Leverage
The U.S. wants to keep the review of the trade agreement open and has little incentive for a final deal, an expert writes.
JWST Just Examined Two Stars Suspected of Harboring Dyson Spheres. Here's What It Found…
Tricksy little hobbitses.
Boyle Gives History Lesson, Advice For Fellow Democrats and Insight Into Political Future At PA Press Club
Left to his own devices, Rep. Brendan Boyle would rather talk sports. But the six-term congressman from Philadelphia thought it more appropriate to give a little history lesson and answer questions about politics and his political future at the Pennsylvania Press Club luncheon on Monday in Harrisburg. Boyle, the ranking…
Carly Simon Reveals Parkinson’s Diagnosis
“I have learned to accept that every day will look a little different. But I am still very much here,” the singer said in a statement to NBC News.
German Business Sentiment Improves, Shrugging Off Middle East Uncertainties
Confidence among firms picked up a little this month, though the roller-coaster ride of oil prices in recent weeks suggested the recovery could be fragile.
Lucy Perry Signs New Contract With LFC Women
The youngest ever debut Liverpool is sticking around for a little longer.
‘CoCo’ would take taxpayers for a ride
Colorado wants taxpayers to spend another $4.73 billion on passenger rail. Don’t worry. They have a plan. Which is a little like your brother-in-law announcing he’s launching another exciting restaurant venture after his last three restaurants ended in bankruptcy. Please. Tell me where to send the check. This week the Front Range Passenger Rail District […]
Business People
Jamie Stogsdill has been promoted to Regions Bank Arkansas and Louisiana consumer banking executive, a senior leadership role overseeing retail-banking operations in Fayetteville; Little Rock; New Orleans; Baton Rouge; Shreveport; and additional markets.
Little bottles becoming big business for booze
NEW YORK — The future for big booze might be smaller — literally. Jameson maker Pernod Ricard, Patrón owner Bacardi Limited, and Kendall Jenner’s 818 ...
What Is An HDMI Coupler Used For?
These little HDMI devices were designed to solve a very particular problem that you might not even have realised you had.
Chicago White Sox Release Brother of Braves’ Player Jurickson Profar
The Chicago White Sox currently sit atop the AL Central with a 54-48 record. They lead the Guardians by 1.5 games in the division. An Atlanta Braves player who is a little bit forgotten is Jurickson Profar. Profar signed a three-year, $42 million deal with the Braves a couple of seasons ago, but he is […] The post Chicago White Sox Release Brother of Braves’ Player Jurickson Profar appeared first on HEAVY.
Rock it! Lab business incubator in Little Rock celebrates graduates, 5th anniversary
Lea Woods said she's never felt like more of a grown-up than she did Saturday, as she sat among fellow graduates of an initiative that helps aspiring entrepreneurs get their businesses off the ground.
2026 FSU Schedule Preview: Florida Gators
Florida’s reset while FSU enters the rivalry with Norvell under fire and little room left for excuses.
ENTERTAINMENT: 24 Hour Plays on tap; local theaters to offer ‘Les Mis’
More than 70 Central Arkansas playwrights, directors, actors, stage managers, musicians, designers and technicians create six brand-new short plays for the fourth annual edition of The 24 Hour Plays: Little Rock, 7 p.m. Monday at Argenta Contemporary Theatre.
MeToo Part Deux Is Coming to US Politics
In the little more than two weeks since Graham Platner was forced to halt his Senate campaign in Maine, his career in tatters after a rape allegation, the Democratic Party has been trying to move on and forget about the oysterman’s problematic candidacy.
Castlevania: Belmont's Curse gets first Nintendo Switch screenshots, frame rate confirmed
The first Nintendo Switch screenshots for Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse are in, and depending on who you ask, this version of the game might be looking a little rough. Pre-orders for the title started on the Nintendo eShop this week. That’s brought us six different images to look at, and this is actually the first time we’re seeing the Nintendo Switch...
Yankees news: Warren bumped with rotation crunch looming
Cam Schlittler moved up, Will Warren pushed back; the Yankees’ deadline options behind the plate; Blackburn’s crosstown turnaround; Gil takes the hill.
Sioux Falls Little League prepares for LLWS push
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) – The Sioux Falls Little League team won the state tournament and has Williamsport on its mind this summer. “We got the first goal accomplished, which was winning state here,” said Head Coach Ryan Krome. “Then the next goal is getting to Indiana and winning that, and getting to Williamsport. Krome […]
“Graphic Talk About Science: Adventures in Science Engagement”
Mount Wilson Observatory (MWO), Southern California’s esteemed home to several of the most groundbreaking astronomical discoveries in history, welcomes the public to the third Saturday Evening Talks & Telescopes of the season on Saturday, July 25, 2026. MWO is honored to present “Graphic Talk About Science: Adventures in Science Engagement,” a lecture by Clifford V. Johnson, from UCSB. This lecture explores how graphic storytelling can make cutting-edge physics more accessible, as Johnson discusses the science and creative process behind his illustrated book, “The Dialogues: Conversations About the Nature of the Universe.” Tickets are available here: www.mtwilson.edu/events/lecture072526 During the six-month season, each Talks & Telescopes event runs from 5:30pm to 11:30pm with the “talk” portion of the evening beginning in the Observatory’s Auditorium. The 60+ minute presentation is followed by picnic dining—bring your own, or purchase from a food truck or caterer—and then, after the sun goes down, stargazing through Mount Wilson’s immense telescopes, the largest in the world made available to the public. Additional stargazing around the grounds will be available thanks to members of the Los Angeles Astronomical Society. Both the 60-inch telescope and the 100-inch—the latter famously used by Edwin Hubble to discover the expanding universe—will be available for viewing the night sky. Priced at $50, this event series offers the most economical stargazing event option on the mountain. Tickets and more information are available on Mount Wilson Observatory’s website here: www.mtwilson.edu/lectures. Advance purchases are highly recommended. UPCOMING SATURDAY EVENING TALKS & TELESCOPES OF THE 2026 SEASON August 22: “Towards a Functional Cosmology” www.mtwilson.edu/events/lecture082226 Join artist Lita Albuquerque for a lecture on her multidisciplinary practice at the intersection of art, science, and cosmology. Drawing on decades of work across painting, land art, performance, and installation, she reflects on projects created in remote, astronomy-linked environments and how they shape her exploration of time, space, and human perception. September 19: “The Brightness of Stars: Henrietta Leavitt and the Transformative Nature of Attention in Art and Science” www.mtwilson.edu/events/lecture091926 Visual artist and author Anna Von Mertens explores the life and legacy of Henrietta Leavitt, whose study of variable stars enabled the first reliable measurements of cosmic distances. Working among the Harvard Computers, Leavitt laid the foundation for breakthroughs at Mount Wilson, including Harlow Shapley’s mapping of the Milky Way and Edwin Hubble’s discovery of an expanding universe. Drawing from her book “Attention Is Discovery: The Life and Legacy of Astronomer Henrietta Leavitt,” Von Mertens shares archival materials alongside her own artwork inspired by Leavitt’s life, to celebrate how careful attention leads to both scientific discovery and a meaningful life. October 17: “The Duality of Genius and Struggle: G.E. Hale” www.mtwilson.edu/events/lecture101726 This talk, presented by Sam Hale, explores the extraordinary life and legacy of his grandfather, George Ellery Hale—the visionary behind some of the world’s most important astronomical institutions. Drawing on both history and personal connection, Sam Hale offers insight into a legacy that continues to shape science and culture today. VISITING MWO The gate to Mount Wilson’s campus opens at 10:00am daily and closes at 5:00pm from early April through November. Entrance to the grounds is free. Visitors can hike, gaze at the telescope domes and towers that dot the landscape, and take a look at historic Mount Wilson photos and letters in the Museum. The Cosmic Cafe (www.mtwilson.edu/cosmic-cafe), located above the main parking lot at the Observatory entrance, is open on weekends in the spring, summer, and fall. In addition to traditional menu items such as hot dogs, drinks, and snacks, the Cafe offers wraps, salads, and sweet treats from Little Flower. PARKING A U.S. Forest Service Adventure Pass is required to park at the Observatory. A $5 day pass or a $30 dollar annual pass may be purchased at the Cosmic Cafe on weekends between 10:00am and 5:00pm. During the week, passes are available at locations around Los Angeles. The most convenient location before heading up is at the Shell station in La Canada Flintridge at the bottom of the Angeles Crest Highway (https://find.shell.com/us/fuel/10007957-4530-angeles-crest-hwy/en_US). Visit the U.S. Forest Service website for more information about Passes and other locations to buy them: www.fs.usda.gov/r05/passes/adventure-pass For more information about Visiting Mount Wilson Observatory, please visit: www.mtwilson.edu/visiting NOT ADA-COMPLIANT Please be advised that access to the 100-inch dome is via an open-air, 53-step staircase inside the building. There is no ADA-compliant access.
New York Yankees @ Philadelphia Phillies: Cam Schlittler vs. Jesús Luzardo
Schlittler starts scintillating series
Myles Garrett ranked as NFL's best edge rusher by Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated ranked Myles Garrett as the best edge rusher in the NFL, which there should be little debate about.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Movie slumps are the worst. You know when you’re looking through the titles on your streaming services, but nothing sounds quite right? And as you continue to look with little success, you get
UW Professor Releases New Edition of Teaching Book for New Engineering
Steven Barrett, a University of Wyoming professor of electrical and computer engineering, has released a new edition of his book “A Little Book on Teaching: A Beginner’s Guide for Educators of Enginee
Musk on his involvement in politics: ‘I got carried away’
Tech mogul Elon Musk reflected on his brief venture into politics in a new interview released Thursday, suggesting he “got carried away.” “I think I got a little too involved in p…
How a Grieving Trump Decided to Back Lindsey Graham’s Sister for Senate
The president initially backed a little-known congressman. Then he talked to Gov. Henry McMaster and Ms. Graham herself.
Voters Think All Politicians Are a Little Corrupt, but Trump Might Be Pushing It
There’s a difference between ordinary influence peddling and the first family’s outright self-enrichment.
Detroit Lions Named as Landing Spot for Diego Pavia
The Detroit Lions have been named as a potential landing spot for former Ravens quarterback Diego Pavia, but there's little reason to believe Brad Holmes will pursue him.
Elon Musk says he ‘got carried away’ in politics, defends DOGE
Elon Musk said he got "carried away" and a "little too involved in politics" during his time leading DOGE, but stood by the department's work.
Hunter hunting.
Amazon’s Blade Runner streaming series has been in the works for ages, but it’s starting to feel a little more real. Entertainment Weekly just dropped the first images from the show, featuring stars Michelle Yeoh and Hunter Schafer, while also confirming that Blade Runner 2099 is expected to come out this year. [Image: https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/Hunter-Schafer-as-Cora-in-Blade-Runner-2099-Credit-Clay-Enos-for-Prime-2763-07172026-146c1bfb01944712ae548b76600b0ab4-1.webp?quality=90&strip=all]
Tulane's Summer Lyric Theatre bids adieu to season with Sondheim's 'Little Night Music'
Dive into the world of musicals, merriment, and mayhem this summer with a variety of captivating shows at New Orleans area playhouses.
NFL Insider Jonathan Jones Announces He's Leaving CBS Sports
With the 2026 NFL season a little over a month away, Jonathan Jones announced that he's leaving CBS Sports. Jones joined CBS Sports in 2019 and quickly became the network's lead insider for NFL news. In addition to providing in-depth reporting, he made regular appearances on CBS Sports HQ and other ...
Venice Lesbian Drama 'Big Little Things' Boards Moebius for Sales
Moebius Entertainment boards worldwide sales for Michelle Zhou's Venice Horizons title 'Big Little Things.'
Michelle Zhou’s Venice Horizons Title ‘Big Little Things’ Boarded By Moebius Entertainment For Sales
The Hong Kong-US collaboration follows a woman who returns to her hometown of Harbin after years living in the US.
Winery owner feared for home and business as 1000-acre 'Little Fire' spread
ENTERTAINMENT: New exhibits show watershed, ‘Fish Guy’ paintings
Discover free art exhibitions, engaging events, and community celebrations in Little Rock from now until October.
Woman accused of breaking items in Manhattan business
Incident reported in 1900 block of Little Kitten Avenue.
Former Viking Kyle Rudolph: Private Equity ‘Great’ for the NFL
Private equity makes "these assets a little more liquid."
On 'Little Miss Twain,' Shania Twain reflects on her humble beginnings and her late mother
Shania Twain's new album, “Little Miss Twain,” explores her early life in Northern Ontario, Canada, a chapter she says most of her fans don't know much about.
Inside the "We Buy Houses" Business
Have you ever gotten a text asking if you'd sell your house? Or maybe someone called out of the blue wanting to buy a property you didn't even know was connected to your name. In this episode of Entrepreneurial Shades of Gray, Dani and Chelsey sit down with Rhen Bartlett, CEO of Heartland Buys, to answer the questions so many homeowners have. How do these companies find you? Why do they target certain properties? And when does selling directly to a home buyer actually make sense? From inherited homes and rental properties to fixer-uppers and probate, Rhen pulls back the curtain on an industry most people know very little about. He also shares red flags to watch for and practical advice to help homeowners make informed decisions when they're approached about selling.
How An Ancient Murder Was Solved Using Flies: The World's First Case Of Forensic Entomology In 13th Century China
The coroner asked every man in the village to drop their sickle in front of them. In a little while, without any further questioning, he turned and accused the perpetrator of murder.
New York Yankees news: Max Fried returns, gets start Wednesday
Fried to skip final rehab start; Boone walks back Stanton comments; Domínguez talks trade rumors; Schlittler Cy fave
Broward Health hosts 1st Bump, Baby and Beyond Fair to help expectant parents
Broward Health is working to make preparing for a baby a little less intimidating by connecting expectant families with resources, doctors and information before delivery day.
Cam Schlittler Praises Aaron Boone's Leadership Amid Yankees' Playoff Push
The New York Yankees are looking to get hot out of the All-Star break. Since returning, they've gone 2-2, but have picked up back-to-back wins over the Los Angeles Dodgers and Pittsburgh Pirates. The Yankees are aiming to make a third straight postseason appearance.
Arkansas company is finding innovative uses for mobile storage
The use of mobile storage containers has drastically improved the way construction sites operate. Now, Little Rock-based Hugg and Hall Mobile Storage, which is marking 30 years in business this...
College football’s best QBs for 2026, plus poll results
The Pulse Newsletter 📣 | This is The Athletic’s daily sports newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Pulse directly in your inbox. Good morning! Don’t spy on anyone today. Coming up: 🏈 CFB QB tiers 📺 Clark out at ESPN 🗳️ Your poll results As one football leaves us, the next one settles in right on time. The World Cup is in the past now. American football is nigh. It’s time to switch our focus. At least until later in this newsletter. We’ve entered one of my favorite parts of the college football preseason: when predictions feel a little more weighty, just...
Former Left 4 Dead Writer Pans PlayStation Backlash Over Physical Media
Unsurprisingly, there has been more than a little backlash following Sony's recent decision to end the production of physical games media in 2028. Much of that backlash has been met with questions from skeptics about the real-world success of physical media compared to digital, and even game...
UFC Freedom 250 Fails to Knock Out The Ratings
(Welcome to my weekly streaming ratings report, the single best guide to what’s popular in streaming TV and what isn’t. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. If you were forwarded this email, please subscribe to get these insights each week.) If UFC fans wanted one image to say, “Hey, Paramount+ is crushing it with their UFC rights deal,” I could provide that image. Here it is: (Reminder: this is my creation of the Nielsen Top 30, since Nielsen doesn’t combine the lists or include sports. I take all three lists and combine them. Some streaming TV shows probably have higher ratings than many of the films on this list.) Look at that! UFC Freedom 250 is number one! It topped the Nielsen “Top 30” list for shows and films that made the top ten the week of 15-June. So if you’re a UFC fan or supporter of Paramount+, that’s the good news for you this week. This program topped the ratings charts for one week. Everything else is bad news, or at least a huge caveat to that story, which I’ll explain today in the first part of this week’s Streaming Ratings Report—for the weeks of 8-June and 15-June—which is a double issue since I’ve been writing on a bunch of topics recently. UFC Freedom 250 is one of the biggest streaming events of the year, and super relevant to Paramount+’s strategy, so it merited its own article. Let’s dive in! (Reminder: The streaming ratings report focuses on the U.S. market and compiles data from Nielsen’s weekly top ten viewership ranks, Luminate’s Top Ten Data, JustWatch and Reelgood interest data, Samba TV household viewership, company datecdotes, Netflix hours viewed data, Google Trends, and IMDb to determine the most popular content. While most data points are current, Nielsen’s data covers the weeks of June 8th to June 21st 2026. You can find a link to my terminology here.) Subscribe Check Out My Interview on UFC 250 at MMA Draw After you read this article, if you want even more thoughts on UFC and Paramount-Skydance/Paramount+, I did a written interview with MMA Draw. They asked me to answer some questions about UFC Freedom 250, and I was happy to chat with them. Find it here: [ The MMA Draw Newsletter Did Paramount really overpay for the UFC? What the data tells us so far If you know the history of American television, you also know that combat sports is often a leading indicator of the future… Read more a day ago · 10 likes · 1 comment · Nate Wilcox and Zach Arnold ](https://www.themmadraw.com/p/did-paramount-really-overpay-for?utm_source=substack&utm_campaign=post_embed&utm_medium=web) I never thought I’d need a combat sports newsletter in my life, but the good folks at MMA Draw publish an excellent one on UFC, MMA, pro wrestling, boxing and more, analyzing both the sports themselves and the politics, economics and antitrust issues that impact them. Check the article and their newsletter out! Paramount+ Has Its Best Sporting Event of All Time…But Was It Worth It? Before we look at the UFC Freedom 250 data in particular, let’s talk about what we can’t say. Namely, let’s start with the lack of comparisons. First off, I’d love to put a chart out comparing this fight to past UFC fights on Paramount+…but we don’t have the data. This is the first time we’ve gotten Nielsen data about a Paramount+ UFC fight. As far as I can tell, Paramount provided data for the first fight, but it was a proprietary datecdote (saying it had “an average minute audience” of 5 million “views”) and then, for two fights, we got the linear viewership numbers when they aired on CBS, but no streaming data. Everything else was crickets. We also can’t compare this fight to other fights/combat sports on streaming, in particular the MMA and boxing, because Netflix also didn’t use Nielsen to track those events, opting for TVision and VideoAmp, respectively. (This isn’t Paramount’s fault, but does still suck.) We also can’t compare to UFC’s fights that used to be on ESPN+, since we don’t have any data for that, plus Disney+ didn’t have marquee fights. The comparisons would not be apples-to-apples. Can we compare to past Pay-Per-View fights? Absolutely not. The comparisons would absolutely NOT be apples-to-apples. That didn’t stop Paramount+, though, who bragged that their UFC events have reached drastically more people than past PPV fights. Duh. Sorry, but I gotta make this point again. A basic tenet of economics is that the cheaper something becomes, the more people consume or buy it. That’s Econ 101. (Sometimes pundits call things “Econ 101” that are actually like Econ 210 or even PhD-level economics, but no, this is really like first or second class basic economics.) Yet I still see one analytics firm consistently say that more people watch films on streaming than PVOD proves streaming which means that the streaming window is more valuable than the PVOD window. No, it’s not! Same thing here. Pay-Per-View events back in the day could be really, really, really expensive! So whole groups of people pitched in to buy them. That increased the perceived value of, say, the Mike Tyson fight. Or a UFC numbered event. So yes, the fact that Paramount+ makes numbered UFC fights essentially “free” if you’re already a Paramount+ member means consumption will go up. Obviously. Same for Netflix and their boxing matches. They’re talking about fights that used to cost consumers, in some cases, $50 in 1996…which is over $100 in today’s dollars. Over 1.6 million people paid that to watch the Tyson-Holyfield fight! Again, streaming is essentially “free”. Or $10 to $20, depending on what streamer we’re talking about and what tier you’re on. No wonder more people are “watching”. (Plus, Nielsen’s out-of-home viewing also helps these numbers.) UFC Freedom 250 Did Well…But I Have A Lot of Worries So what can we compare the fights to? Well, the good news is Nielsen put out that the fight averaged 7.0 million viewers for UFC Freedom 250, which is a solid number for a fight. We also know the length, at roughly 4 and a half hours. (I saw different run times, but this seems to be the consensus considering it started at 8 pm, had a delay and then finished after midnight on the East Coast. If you assume a shorter run time, then yes, the total hours viewed would go down.) That means I have the two numbers needed to add this to my Nielsen database. And then…I can compare this viewership to the NFL: And, uh, not great. But also within striking distance, mainly because the runtime for this event was so long. I’d also add that this event had viewership equal to a regular season NFL game on streaming, but if anything, it was more comparable to an NFL playoff or Super Bowl-esque event. And you can compare viewership to the top football games on broadcast, cable and streaming, and it’s not impressive at all: We can also compare it to other sports that week, including the NBA Finals and start of the World Cup: Again, not great. The NBA generated roughly four times as many average viewers each game for its NBA Finals. The World Cup has similarly big numbers. Also, that’s just a tiny fraction of the 25 most watched sporting events each week. The NBA, NHL and FIFA World Cup had many, many more games racking up hours. We could also compare this to other streaming programs to get an idea of “is this a good investment?” and here is how it ranks compared to other top Paramount+ programs: The worry here? Well, unlike scripted programming, which has rewatchability, older fights/sporting events have very little library value. Very, very few people are rewatching these fights, especially years from now. Paramount has also released datecdotes bragging about their subscriber numbers. Earlier this year, they claimed that the first UFC fight on Paramount+ brought in 1 million subscribers. Then, in their quarterly earnings report, they only ended up with 700K subs. Not great! They claimed they dropped lower-value international subscribers, but that’s why I tend to discount subscriber additions when they’re leaked to the press.1 I expect we may see a bump again for UFC Freedom 250, but I’d caution using subscriber growth so soon after these events to judge the success, since new subs with high churn (see Peacock) aren’t great either. Also, analysts often want to attribute all subscriber growth to their favorite/pet show, and that just doesn’t make sense. The biggest caveat for UFC Freedom 250 and Paramount’s very first UFC marquee event is that these could be high watermarks for the sport. UFC Freedom 250 had an incredible amount of earned media coverage compared to most UFC fights. I mean, it had wall-to-wall national news coverage in the lead up to the event. (The first fight also had a lot of promotion from Paramount since it was first.) Other fights could reach this bar—say the Conor McGregor return to the Octagon—but they’ll be fewer and far between. Was This Deal Worth It? All to ask: is this Paramount deal worth it? In this case, I think the UFC Freedom 250 numbers are more distracting than helpful. This fight did well and compares well to other top sporting events. But we know that the first marquee event was at least a third smaller, if Paramount’s own data is to be believed. And it’s likely the other fights are much, much, much smaller. And then you get to the paycheck that Paramount-Skydance paid. FIFA’s World Cup cost about the same for Fox, but clearly generated multiples more total viewership. (Though it’s only every four years.) The NBA is much more expensive, but until the playoffs, they likely didn’t pay for itself. Even still, Disney, NBCUniversal and Amazon Prime Video likely overpaid. So, in that context, the NBA may be an overpay that makes the UFC look not so bad. But two overpays don’t make an underpay, to paraphrase the old cliché about wrongs and rights. And looking at UFC Freedom 250 as the likely ceiling of MMA on Paramount+, Paramount-Skydance likely paid too much. Share 1 I would love regular reports on subscriber additions by programs, but as is, it’s mostly leaked or rumored in haphazard ways.
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I’m not sure how many of you are watching “Star City,” Apple TV’s spin-off of its “For All Mankind” program (2019-present), but it’s one of the better sci-fi series I’ve seen in a while, with an impressively dark political message. (Some light spoilers below.) For the uninitiated, “For All Mankind” presented a slightly tweaked history of the U.S. space program in which it was the USSR that landed on the Moon first in 1969, and shortly thereafter put a woman cosmonaut on the lunar surface. This sparks an ongoing space race that, in the original series, yields a lot of benefits for humanity. President Nixon’s insistence on a female astronaut corps to compete with the Soviets boosts the feminist movement of the 1970s and the ERA passes. New fuels generated for the space program create clean and cheap energy around Earth. There are also some darker changes — the USSR is thriving well into the 2000s, there are terrorist counter-technology movements around the globe, laborers on Mars work in nightmarish conditions and organize strikes and riots, etc. the @smotus report is a reader-supported publication. To support this work, please become a paid subscriber. Subscribe That show offers glimpses into the subtle ways this Earth is different. Teddy Kennedy never went to Chappaquidick because he was racing back to Washington to deal with the space program crisis; he gets elected President in 1972. John Lennon survives his early 1980s shooting but Pope John Paul II does not. The Apple Newton succeeded. Pretty much the whole of season 4 is a setup for an Al Gore joke. Again, mostly, the vision that “For All Mankind” presents is a positive one, with technology advancing many human interests. “Star City” goes in a very different direction. This spin-off show is about the same set of events but from the Soviet perspective. As we meet them, the team of scientists and cosmonauts responsible for the lunar landing are still basking in their hero status, but their program is embedded deep in the Soviet security state of the late 1960s. Everyone’s apartment is bugged. Whole teams of clerical staff spend their days transcribing recordings of people’s lives. People in the program, including respected cosmonauts, are regularly arrested. An incredibly menacing Colonel Lyudmilla Raskova (Anna Maxwell Martin) forces confessions and tortures and kills, expressing little more than annoyance in the process. Meanwhile, the space program’s highly respected Chief Designer (Rhys Ifans) has a vision for the program that he knows the government will not approve. He insists that they need to think past the Moon to focus on colonizing the solar system, starting with Venus. (This is a rough parallel to the Americans’ pivot to Mars in the original show.) He essentially builds a secret space program within the space program, calculating that the government will embrace the mission after it has succeeded. (As an aside, I’m not sure why the Venus obsession, as a successful mission can’t produce the biggest public relations payoff: a cosmonaut standing on the surface holding the Soviet flag. Anyone standing on Venus would be immediately crushed by the 92-bar atmosphere and then cremated in the 900°F temperatures. But in a country with no free press perhaps the visual payoff was less valued.) But the overall vision is that the technological advances have only amplified the most fearsome aspects of the Soviet system. The state is paranoid (but not incorrect) about American spies and does monstrous things to protect its secrets. People are terrified to trust each other. Classic banality-of-evil figures order people to harm those they care about; those people comply rather than get shot. Others are forced into criminal behavior to protect loved ones. We’re reminded all the time these days of what happens when a government despises science. It manifests in the defunding of schools, the elevation of fossil fuels as the rest of the world pivots to solar, outbreaks of measles and diarrhea, etc. But “Star City” offers a vision of a bad government that likes science. It’s not encouraging. It’s not yet clear if there will be a season two of this show. But I strongly recommend season one. It’s both thoughtful and gripping. Share
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